Holding Out For a Hero
by AmericanHoney12
Summary: Brady Fuller. La Push's famous bad boy, complete with scars and a record. Ronnie Decker. The sarcastic new girl who has family issues. These two very different people were never supposed to cross paths but when destiny pushes these two together, will they accept their fate? Or will they fight what was meant to be? Brady/OC
1. Prologue

**Hey you guys! New story and my first Twilight fanfic! I came up with the idea a long while ago, and I've been working hard. Hope it pleases you. **

**The Prologue is a little boring, but I feel like my character would need a reason to write her story out. This is a nice way to do it I think. You really don't even need to read it if you don't want to.**

**I do not own Twilight or anything associated**

**Prologue**

_Dear Ronnie,_

_Hello there!__Hey!__Guten tag!__ Ok, you know who I am. I'm you. Well, a younger you. At this moment, I am forty three and I finally got the courage to write this part of my memoire to you. I kind of wonder if you will remember writing this, or you may forget it all together and not even remember to read it. In any case, I've decided to take my own story into my own hands._

_It's not a secret that my family suffers from Alzheimer's. If you had no idea, you probably have gotten it. My grandmother had it, and eventually my mother did as well. It scares me to think that I won't remember all of the amazing things that have happened to me. Even the bad things. The hurt, the heartbreak, it's made me who I am. Who you are. _

_To prevent any confusion from your… my… you get the idea… past life I have decided to write it out. Page for page, word for word, thought for thought. I know, that's just like Nicholas Sparks' The Notebook, but it worked for Allie. Why couldn't it work for me? And if you have no idea what I am talking about… read the book. It's really good. _

_Enclosed in this envelope are pages upon pages of hard work. I do not exaggerate on how HARD this was for me to complete. This was a long tedious process in which I almost gave up thousands of times. However, I was able to find it in my heart to finish this work for you. _

_Let me cut to the chase. This is the story of your life. Not from the very beginning, but right before your life changed completely. I felt it was a story that needed to be told, and if you forget… you've just got to remember._

_What I've written is honestly the best thing that ever happened to you. It was such an important part of your life, and if you forgot… well, I would be heartbroken. _

_Read this carefully, thoroughly, and with your heart. It is so important. I hope that this serves its purpose and helps you to remember. I hope you never forget, but if you do, read this yourself. Or give it to Brady. Brady will help you. He always will. _

_Well, I guess that is all. I am putting this behind me and moving on to bigger and better things. Have a great life. Wow, this is really cheesy. _

_Love, Ronnie. _


	2. Chapter 1

**I've been working really hard on this, and I hope it shows! I have most of it planned out but I would be very open to ideas :) Also, this is going to be a little slow in the beginning. **

**I do not own Twilight or its characters**

**Chapter 1**

I hated airplanes. From the nauseous feeling of the takeoff to the overly nice stewardess' down to the gross bags of peanuts; I hated every second of it. I never really thought about the underlying cause of my hatred for the flying machines that were the world's fastest transportation. It may have been when I had gotten sick on my first plane ride. Or that time I had to sit in coach next to an old man who smelled like BO and cigars. It could have also been that the last time I was on a plane I was headed away from the place I was headed to that very moment.

I would think it was the latter. I didn't want to be on this flight going to the place of my own personal hell. Okay, maybe that was an overstatement, but every time I thought about where this death trap in the air was going to land, I felt myself become a flurry of emotions. If it had been my choice, I would have gone anywhere, _anywhere_, but here. If it had been my choice, I would have stayed with anyone else. But of course, I was a minor, and minors apparently do not have enough of a brain to choose where their fate will go. We were at the mercies of the courts, and the courts hadn't agreed with me that I should go anywhere else.

I guess it wasn't really the place I detested the most. Sure, I had jumped at the opportunity to leave La Push, my hometown, but at the time I was angry and only eight years old. Once I understood what she did, I would have done anything anyone asked me to just to make _her_ upset. So leaving _her_ seemed like the best way to hurt her. Apparently my plan didn't exactly work in my favor, because she was married not even a year after I was gone.

Have you ever felt like you were completely alone? Or abandoned? I have, and believe me it isn't a fun emotion to experience. When someone you thought you could depend on doesn't feel the need to be around anymore, you start to believe that you aren't good enough. Especially if that person was the one person that you are taught that you can always trust.

"Ma'am." A voice said, pulling me from my thoughts. I turned to see a bleach blonde, long legged, red lipped stewardess bending to my level. It didn't go unnoticed that the man who was sitting in the aisle across from me, was enjoying having this ladies rear in his face. I looked from the man to the woman who was invading my personal bubble. If I had the guts, I would tell her to back off, but I never had been born with a backbone.

"Yes?" I asked. The woman scrutinized me, her bright baby blues looking me over. Again, if I had a tough bone in my body I would have chewed her a new one.

"We're about to land. Can I get you to buckle your seatbelt?" She asked, not really asking if that makes any sense. I simply nodded, pulling the belt across my waist. She gave me a curt nod before moving on to the person in front of me. I sighed looking out the window.

I never dreamed in my life that I would be headed back here. I vowed I never would at least for a long period of time. But apparently the heavens and whoever decides our fates hated me. A small tear fell from my eye. I wiped it away furiously. I wouldn't let anyone here see me cry. I had to have some kind of control in this situation. So, not showing anything but hateful emotion was my way of showing I hated this decision. I wouldn't show just how much this move was killing me. Or just how much the reason for it made me want to die myself.

_It's only three years, _I told myself. In reality that wasn't such a long time, but in my mind it was a lifetime. When I was eighteen and graduated, I was getting the hell away from this place for good. I would never come back for birthdays, holidays, or the occasional visit. No one would push me to go either. I would be able to leave the haunting memories behind me. I could pack up and leave all the sadness and heartbreak here.

I felt my stomach jolt when I felt the plane begin descending. In a few minutes I would be looking at the woman who had broken, not just my heart, but my dad's too. I didn't know how I would react when I actually saw her. I knew what I wanted to do. I wanted to scream and let her know just how much I resented her. I wanted to slap the stupid out of her, and beat her husband as well. However, that wouldn't be very mature of me, and I was always complimented on how mature I could be.

When the plane was on the ground and I found myself out of the safety of the sky, I grumbled to myself. I ignored the strange look I got from the woman in front of me and I unbelted myself. The fake looking stewardess bided us a good afternoon and thanked us for flying with them. I could hear the tiredness and irritation in her voice. Not many other people would have been able to pick up on it, but I felt the same way. Tired and irritated with the world and the idiots who populated it.

I threw my carry-on over my shoulder and followed the line of people that were departing the plane. As slowly as possible I made my way into the airport and over to baggage claim. I watched as families of all shapes and sizes greeted each other. I even saw an army man hug his wife and baby. It brought happiness to my heart, but I knew that my reaction to my own family would not be as joyful. I hadn't seen _her_ yet, and I hoped to keep it that way. If I was lucky she would have forgotten and I could just go back home.

_Home._ I missed it so much. I missed the sun, my friends, but most importantly, my dad. To think I wasn't with him made me want to throw myself in front of a bus. I missed his laugh, even if most of the time it was forced. I missed the way he used to call me Peanut, even though he had always said it at the most improper times. I even missed his loud snoring that I could hear across the hall from our small apartment. I would never be able to enjoy those ever again. The thought made my eyes prick with annoying tears again. I quickly blinked them away, making sure no sign of their existence was on my face.

I collected my meager mustard yellow suitcase and made my way to the front of the building. I looked around for any sign of my _guardian. _At first I honestly did think that she had forgotten me, but when my legs were attacked by a small child I knew different. I looked down to find a pair of chocolate brown eyes and a face full of freckles looking up at me. I couldn't help but smile and I bent down to hug the kid squeezing my legs. I may have been dreading seeing most of the people here, but this kid I could never get tired of.

"Hey squirt." I said my voice shaking with laughter. His bright smile changed quickly into a glare. I didn't take it to heart, because he looked cuter when he was mad.

"I'm not a squirt anymore! I grew a whole inch and a half!" He told me. I pulled a grateful face as I looked at him.

"Wow! You're growing up." I told him. His smile returned. I couldn't be bitter around him. His grin was contagious. However, I looked up to see the woman I had been dreading seeing and my smile faultered.

She had her own smile plastered on her face. I could sense her nervousness as she approached. She looked the same. Her dark brown curls were pulled into a messy bun on the top of her head. She wore a sun dress that flowed around her mid-section. She was most likely trying to hide her swollen stomach, but it didn't get by me. I had heard around the rumor mill that she was pregnant again. The pregnancy itself didn't bother me, just the fact that she didn't even think to let me know. My assumptions of her tension were confirmed when I saw her hazel eyes. She was worried about my reaction to her, as she should be.

"Ben!" She scolded looking down at the boy who had since released my legs. "What did I tell you about running ahead of me?"

"That I could get lost and you would have a heart attack." Ben replied looking down at the tiled floor. I held back my eye roll. I would run away too. However, Ben had no idea the past that his mother and I had. I looked from Ben up to her.

"Hello Veronica." She said. I winced slightly at the use of my full name. My eyes searched her face. She had hope on her features, something I didn't really want to squash. Then again, I didn't want her thinking that I was okay with what she did to me. I pulled on my emotionless mask as I looked her dead in the eye.

"Hello mother." I replied. She also winced, hearing _mother_ instead of _mom _or _mommy. _I should have gone the extra length and called her by her first name, but I hadn't thought of it then. I took some sort of pride in making her squirm. It was kind of sick and more than a little messed up, but in my eyes she deserved it.

"How was your flight?" She asked me. I saw as her eyes look me over. The smile on her face said that I pleased her, and that was probably because I looked so much like her. I felt a little uncomfortable under her gaze. I had dreamed of so many ways this could go, but I never imagined I would be the one feeling uneasy.

"Fine." I shrugged. She gave a quick nod, looking down at Ben. He looked up a toothy grin gracing his features. Ben then met my gaze. He sent a quick nod to his mother's stomach.

"Mommy's having a baby." Ben said excitedly. "I'm going to be a big brother!"

I had to smile at his enthusiasm. Out of this whole terrible situation, the only good that came out of it was my little half-brother. However, looking over my mother's engorged stomach I felt the bitterness return. Why should these kids get my mother? I had her first. I quickly shook my head free of that thought. I didn't need her, I never had.

"I heard." I said the bitterness coming from my mouth as I looked at the pregnant woman in front of me. She visibly swallowed, hesitantly meeting my gaze. "So am I going to have a brother or sister?"

"It's too early to tell. And I'm sorry I didn't tell you sooner…. It's just when I told you about…. Well…" She said trailing off. My eyes flickered down to Ben who was now looking out of the wall of windows. I looked back to her to see a tear reach the corner of her eye.

"Don't do that." I told her. She blinked away the pathetic tear, doing her best to stay strong. Whether that was for herself or Ben, I'd never know. I sighed looking back down at her stomach.

"Congratulations." I told her, holding back any angry emotions that may leak through. Her face lit up as she smiled. I forced a small one in return.

"Well, let's get your stuff in the car and head home." She said, obviously glad that she had gotten that over with. Ben jumped excitedly grabbing onto my free hand. I let out a laugh as he began pulling me. I tried my best not to hit anyone as the small child rammed me through the hordes of people surrounding.

When we reached the parking lot, I had to hold back my scoff. Ben pulled me right up to a huge, new, red SUV. No wonder they would have a nice, big vehicle. Because they need all that room? No, they just had the money and loved wasting it. Neither I nor my dad ever saw a cent of that money. Apparently she didn't have to take care of me since she had another family now.

"Is this all you brought?" She asked me looking at my suitcase and the back pack. I gave her an incredulous look before nodding. She took in a shaky breath before nodding herself. I rolled my eyes putting all of my possessions in the trunk that could fit five bodies.

"Maybe we can go shopping before you go to school. It will be fun." She said once we were all in the car and buckled in. I held back yet another scoff. Going anywhere with her for a long period of time did not sound _fun_ to me. In fact it sounded like torture.

"I have clothes." I told her. She let out a soft laugh, that made my eyebrows knit together. She must have caught it because all amusement left her face.

"I didn't mean anything by it. It's just, you don't seem to have enough." She told me. I looked over at her before glaring out the windshield.

"I can manage. I have all these years." I replied irritated. That ended all conversation between the two of us. I could sense that my words had stung, but she needed to hear them. She needed to know what her choices did to others. What her actions led to the lengths both my father and I to just feel slightly happy.

The car ride from Seattle to La Push was a long one, full of Ben chatting away. I laughed when I was supposed to, _oohed_ and _awed_ when he told me something he had accomplished. My mother stayed completely silent, only smiling every now and then. I felt slightly proud of myself that I could get her to stay silent. It made me feel a bit powerful, something I've never felt in my whole sixteen years of life.

I felt my glee fade as we got out of the city and into small town USA. The less I saw of civilization the more I missed San Francisco. The more I missed any city actually. When I was a kid, I'd love La Push. It wasn't big at all, and everyone knew everyone. As a child, that was fun. I knew every single kid my age, and their parents.

Of course, when everyone heard about my mother and father's situation, everyone knew about it. I couldn't take the pity looks they gave me. Even kids asked me why my mom had run off. I hadn't been able to answer, so when dad got a job offer in California, I didn't even hesitate. I packed and left behind everything that reminded me of her.

I blinked when I saw the 'Welcome to La Push: Home of the Quileute's.' I didn't even know how to react. I was back to where I was born, where everything heartbreakingly sad had happened to me. Numb would be a good word to put how I felt at that moment. I put up such a wall that I felt completely emotionless. There was no turning back now.

As we drove through, I found myself looking around, seeing if I remembered anything. Granted the last time I had been here was when I was eleven. Nothing much had changed that I could remember, just things had gotten older. Small shops, a grocery store, and lots of run down houses passed by my eyes. Ben pointed out his friends' houses, and a playground that I didn't remember being there. We even passed by First Beach, which I remembered well.

I remember going on picnics with mom and dad. The sand getting squished between my toes, and the water splashing my little legs. I remember I had thought mom and dad were happy. I thought they loved each other. I thought they were going to be together forever. But I was devastatingly wrong.

"Here we are." She said pulling into a long driveway. My mouth dropped. Out of the houses that could be on a Native American Reservation, this had to be one of the nicest. It was a two story white beauty. Complete with a front porch and a large garage. Looking into the garage I could see another black SUV similar to the one I was in. I couldn't hold back the eye roll. I could feel her eyes on me as I assessed the house. It was the typical dream house. However, I didn't show her how much I really did like the house. She let out a sigh climbing from the vehicle.

She pulled Ben from his car seat, setting his kicking feet on the ground. I pulled my bags out of the trunk. She tried to grab the backpack, but I threw it on my back before she could. She shut the trunk with a loud huff. It wasn't an angry huff, more like an overworked and out of energy huff.

"You alright?" I found myself asking. She seemed shock by my concern. Almost as shocked as I was. She nodded.

"Yeah. These babies take a lot of a person." She replied with an exasperated smile. I nodded, adjusting my bag strap on my shoulder awkwardly. "You weren't half this bad."

I let out a small laugh. It made her smile even wider. She then led the way up to the front door. The front doors were beautiful. Yes, I say doors because there were two, with beautiful stained glass windows in them. She turned the door knob and the door came open easily, a big improvement from the squeaky door my old apartment had.

When I stepped into the house, I couldn't believe my eyes.

To my left was a beautiful dining room, leading into what I assumed was the kitchen. To my right was the living room, complete with two couches, a love seat, and a large TV on the wall. Under it was a beautiful fireplace, that I bet wasn't even used. I would have loved it when our heat used to cut off.

My mother showed me up the stairs, pointing out Ben's room, the nursery, one of the bathrooms, her bedroom, and then mine. As we stepped into my room I had to clench my teeth to keep my jaw from dropping. It was much bigger than my old broom size closet bedroom in the apartment. In fact, the closet was bigger than my old room. I even had my own bathroom for Christ's sake!

The room was carefully planned. The walls were an off white, nothing hanging on them, except for the whopping TV on it. I had a large Queen size bed in the center of the room with white sheets and a deep blue comforter. It seemed that was the only color in the room. The wood of the dresser and desk were a deep cherry wood. There was even a damn laptop sitting on the desk!

I placed my things down to check out the bathroom. There was a shower with a blue curtain a similar color to my comforter. There was a mirror sitting above the sink and a medicine cabinet above the toilet. The walls were the same off white.

"I didn't know what color paint to use, so I went with a neutral." She said nervously. I could tell she was wondering if I liked the room. In fact I did, even with the plain walls. Of course, I would have to hang my own photo's up. Then again I could always paint it black and give her a heart attack. Maybe when she wasn't pregnant I would try that.

"And I figured that you would want to hang up pictures. That is if you still take them." She said as if reading my mind. I met her eyes and nodded, answering her question. She smiled. "I'm glad, you were always so good at it."

"Thanks." I replied. My hand grazed over the wooden dresser and I found myself smile. This was nicer than anything I had ever owned. The whole room was nicer than anything I'd even owned. These were things I dreamed about, and now they were mine. I couldn't even believe it.

She must have seen my smile because she grinned also. However, my happiness faded. If only dad was here to see it. If only he could have had such nice things. I pulled my hand back as if the dresser burned me. It didn't seem fair. Why did I get nice things while he couldn't? He would never be able to see, touch, or own these things. Not anymore. I felt complete and utter guilt as I looked around the room. What was extremely unfair was that I was accepting these gifts from the very person who had hurt my father so much that he….

"Is something wrong?" She asked me. I looked up, seeing her anxiousness return. As much as it killed me, her sadness was bringing me down. I pulled up my mask and nodded.

"Yeah, it's just… such a big change." I replied. She nodded looking down. I walked to the bed, beginning to unpack my stuff. She tried to help, but once she realized that I didn't want her help she backed off. I heard her small footsteps begin to retreat, but they suddenly stopped. She returned to the bedroom and surprised me.

She wrapped her arms around me as best she could with her large belly. I stiffened and she noticed, but continued to embrace me. She pressed a small soft kiss to my temple.

"I'm so glad you are here." She whispered. She stayed there for a second before she realized I wasn't going to respond. She let out a sigh before leaving the room, shutting the door behind her. I wiped at my temple and shivered. I felt dirty. The woman, who had taken everything from me, was trying to make me feel like she loved me.

If she loved me why did she leave? She obviously didn't love my father because she was the one who sent him to his death, even indirectly.

I let out an angry growl, dropping the T-Shirts in my hand and going into the bathroom. I needed a shower. A long, scalding hot shower that could wash away all of these feelings.

* * *

After my thirty minute shower, I found myself looking in my mirror. My dark brown hair fell past my shoulders by a couple inches. It was bone straight, never holding curl no matter how much heat was applied. My eyes were pretty much the same color, even a little darker maybe. I was thin, holding no curves like my hair. I never received the chest I desired or the backside for that matter.

In a word, I was awkward. I had long arms that were longer than my torso, and short legs. I wasn't proportional at all. My only beauty was the long dark lashes that surrounded my eyes. I treasured them and the ability to not have to wear a whole crap load of make-up to make sure I didn't look like a man. Well, with a body like mine, I looked like a twelve year old boy in his pre puberty stage.

"Ronnie." A voice said with a small knock on the door. I opened the door wide to find Ben standing there a large grin on his face. I smiled, stepping back to let him in. He hopped up on my bed, a toy car in his hand. I sat down next to him, throwing my wet hair over my shoulder. I tossed my still unpacked bags on the floor, giving us more room.

"How are you kid?" I asked him. He shrugged, a trait that so mimicked mine. His curly brown hair jumped when he did the action. I ran a hand over his head, loving the feeling of his curls. "Something on your mind?"

He shrugged yet again. His smile had disappeared and his little fingers fiddled with his car. My eyebrows came together as I looked at him. His ability to keep quiet for this long worried me. I usually couldn't keep his mouth shut.

"You can tell me." I told him. He looked up to me, scrutinizing my face. I gave him a smile in which he returned.

"It's just… how come you are living here now?" He asked. It was an honest question. I bit my bottom lip. I couldn't very well tell him, "_Well your mother left my dad for your dad and my dad got so depressed that he drank himself to death." _A six year old would never understand that, or appreciate me talking about his mommy badly. He looked at me expectantly and I sighed.

"Well, I can't live where I used to." I told him. His eyebrows knitted together in confusion.

"How come?" He asked. _Damn_.

"Because… you remember my dad right?" I asked him. He nodded. "Well, he got really sick."

"Like when I got the Chicken Pox?" He asked, eyes wide. I chuckled.

"Worse than Chicken Pox." I told him. He gasped and I couldn't help but laugh at his reaction.

"I don't see what's so funny." He said seriously. I swallowed all amusement.

"Sorry. It's not." I replied. "Well, my dad got really sick. And well… he…. He's um…"

I trailed off. I didn't know if his parents had discussed death with him. They obviously hadn't told him my father had passed and that was the only reason I was even here. I wished they had, because then I wouldn't have to relive my father's death through a six year old.

"Did he go to heaven?" The cutie pie asked. My breath hitched as a heard his answer. I hadn't thought much about it. I hadn't been to church since I was a kid. I didn't know what I believed, but looking into Ben's eyes I found myself smiling. If anyone deserved to go to eternal paradise, it would be my dad.

"Yeah. He's in heaven now." I replied, holding back tears. He must have sensed my distress because he took my hand.

"Mommy used to talk about him sometimes." He admitted. That shocked me. I figured that she had left behind her old life to never look back again. To hear that she even spoke his name made me feel a little better.

"She did?" I asked. He nodded excitedly. "What did she say?"

"That he was a nice guy. And he loved you a lot." He said playing with the car in his hands. "Sometimes she would get real sad when she talked about him. I never knew why."

I swallowed the lump in my throat. I kind of wondered if she had sent him in here to say this, but I knew deep down she didn't. It was hard to think about her actually caring about him after the way she treated him. However, I think back to the times when I was little and I would see them kissing and think I wanted a love like that. She must have loved him at least a little, just not enough to stay.

"Do you wanna' play?" He asked suddenly. I smiled, nodding. He jumped down from my bed and took off for his room. I obediently followed, hoping that I may be able to get my mind off of everything. This was going to be a long three years.


	3. Chapter 2

**Hope you all are enjoying this! Really love reviews :)**

**My blog for this story is on my profile, check it out! It's in the beginning stages, so bear with me.**

**I do not own Twilight or its characters. I only own Ronnie and her family.**

**Chapter 2**

I never imagined that anything could be any tenser than the car ride to the house. Apparently I was wrong.

Dinner that night was the most awkward thing I've ever endured, next to the one armed hug I received from Ryan, my step-dad. My mother and Ryan tried to keep up good conversation, but all they got from me was one word answers and my signature shrug. They asked how school had been going. I'd said it was fine. They asked if I was interested in any clubs here. I replied no. They even asked me how my father's funeral had gone. I was tempted to say that it was great without them there, but I held my tongue. I told them that it had been a beautiful ceremony.

After that, they kind of blocked out my existence, not that I minded. I tuned them out as well. My mother was just asking Ryan about work, which apparently had been _'stressful.'_ He didn't know stressful. Not in my eyes. Being a successful restaurant owner and chef didn't scream at me as stressful. Sure you had bitchy customers to deal with, but you didn't have to juggle school, with a part time job in retail, and then watching your father drink until he was passed out on the couch.

I think what bothered me the most about this was that people thought my father was a bad person because he turned to the bottle. Sure, it wasn't the best option or the safest, but he never did anything stupid. After the divorce was final, I noticed that he would get really giggly and sometimes get sick. As I child, I thought he was just happy to be away from La Push. Then as I grew older I thought my dad was absolutely insane. It wasn't until I saw the empty beer bottles hidden under his bed that I realized he had found his outlet for the depression he had plummeted into.

I hadn't said anything. I wanted to keep him in the mindset that I was clueless and still thought he was a saint. He wasn't a mean drunk. In fact, the liquor kept him quiet, and stopped him from bursting out into tears. He never said one cruel word to me, or hit me for that matter. He was a good man, never wavering from the love he had for me. He had been my world, and the world had taken him from me.

_She _had taken him from me.

I looked up to her as she spoke to my little brother. Her smile was radiant, and I could only wish that I could one day smile like that. She was happy. She looked like she did when she was with my father all those years ago. Either she was a good actress or she was honestly happier with her new husband and new family.

I scowled, stabbing my piece of broccoli with my fork. Why should she be happy while I'm miserable? It didn't seem fair to me. Then again, the world had never been fair. Why should it start now?

"So, Veronica." My mother said. I looked up to her again, meeting her hazel eyes. She had a determined look on her face; all anxiousness from seeing me earlier disappeared. "I was thinking tomorrow we could go on that shopping trip."

I stared at her, almost gaping. When she had said it before, I thought she was joking. Or it was a promise I knew she would never keep. I hadn't minded that, because then it could fuel the hate fire already burning in my soul. I thought my comment had shut her up. However, I should have known. When you are dealing with Melissa Decker… I mean Purser; you are going to get a lot of surprises.

"I have clothes." I told her again, not sugar coating the annoyance at having to repeat myself. I half expected her to sigh, but she just looked me over and held her chin high.

"A couple T-shirts and two pairs of jeans that you have had for years do not complete a wardrobe." She said, her own irritation coming out. I slightly scowled. Dad always said I reminded him of her. We both had the same temper and irritation level. It only threw sticks to the flame. I wanted to tell her that I had plenty of flannel and a pair of khaki pants as well, but I thought that would be too childish.

"It's enough for me. It always has." I told her. I could see Ryan visibly swallow. He didn't want anything to do with this, and I didn't blame him. The only reason I disliked Ryan was because he was so charming and sweet that he got his claws into my mother and made her leave. But otherwise he wasn't a bad guy. He was trying to stay out of the line of fire.

"Listen, I want to get something for you. Let me get something for you." My mother said. We had a stare down, neither one of us wanting to back down. Why should I accept anything from her? She's never tried before. Why now? I didn't want anything from her. However, thinking about the large holes in some of my T-shirts, and the mud stains on my jeans, new clothes sounded pretty nice. Curse the girly girl that was inside my heart. Curse her for wanting things from the woman who had wrecked my world.

"Fine." I said defeated. A large grin broke onto her face. I didn't bother smiling back. I just glared at my plate.

"Great! There is this adorable little boutique in Port Angeles." She said excitedly. I cringed as she said _adorable. _It hadn't occurred to me before, but ever since dad and I moved my mother hadn't had a chance to have a mother-daughter outing. All she had was boys, and boys did not like shopping. She probably wanted to play dress up, to make up for all the years. I wasn't too keen on the idea, for I myself didn't like shopping. However, I was a female, and most females have this gene in them, that loves to get new things. They also have a way of picking out just the right outfit for the right occasion. T-shirts and jeans had always done nice for me, because the only places I went were school and the occasional trip to the library.

While my mother raved about _'cute little shops,'_ and _'wonderful clothes,'_ I found myself going into exhaustion. The jet lag must be catching up to me, and besides I haven't slept well ever since I… well let's just say I've been having nightmares.

"I think I'm going to head up to bed." I told them, standing as I did. I could feel their eyes on me as I made my way to the sink. Whether their gazes were judging or worried I didn't know. I turned and my mother and Ryan turned back to their plates acting like they hadn't just been watching me. Ben, on the other hand, stared right at me. His brown eyes were sparkling and he gave me a toothy grin. I couldn't count how many times that kid had smiled at me that day. I guessed he was just trying to comfort me. He must have picked up on my stress level just being here. I had always believed that children could pick up on things like that.

"Goodnight." My mother said to me. I looked back to her and saw the hopefulness. I then looked at Ryan who had a large grin on his face, similar to his sons.

"Night." I told them, kissing Ben's forehead and walking out of the room quickly. My mother's sigh didn't go unnoticed. She was trying, but I couldn't bring myself to forgive her.

I made my way up the stairs and to my bedroom. I shut the door firmly behind me. I prayed that no one came to see me tonight. I didn't think I could handle any visitors with my sleepiness and my stress level. I just wanted to crawl into bed and sleep for ten years. I bet I could do it too.

I changed in a daze before slipping under the covers. The sheets were soft. I bet they were made of some expensive fabric. The pillows were just as comfortable. It wouldn't have surprised me if they contained real feathers from some exotic bird. Once I was settled, I clicked the lamp off and stared at the ceiling.

It was just as white as the rest of the room. It was kind of haunting. The shadows of the dark reflecting off the white room made me shiver. I swallowed, willing myself not to cry. I missed my home. I missed my friends. I missed my dad. I wished I could go back. I would give up all of these nice things to be back in that dull old apartment any day. I'd do anything for just one more day with my dad. For the normalcy to return.

I closed my eyes, trying to go to sleep. It took a while, and a few tears were shed, but I finally let the exhaustion take over. I just hoped I didn't have a nightmare.

* * *

"_Ronnie." An eerie voice said. I hadn't heard a voice like that before. It made my spine shiver. However, I would bet it was just Ben trying to scare me. I rolled over, groaning as I did. _

"_Ronnie." The voice repeated, a little more alert this time. I felt myself crack a smile. _

"_Alright Ben. Cut it out." I said. I would have thought he would giggle or even jump on me. However, neither happened. _

'_Ronnie." The voice said once again, this time louder. This voice sounded tired, old, and scared? Whoever they were, they were insistent on speaking to me. My eyes stayed closed. The longer I could sleep, the longer I would be away from my mother. _

"_Wake up!" The voice yelled. My eyes shot open. Now the voice was angry, very angry. I looked around, hoping to find the owner of this terrifying creature. However, I saw nothing. Nothing bur white. My furniture had disappeared. I was on the ground, the room completely white. I shivered once again._

_I brought myself to stand, searching for anything living. However, I was the only person or thing here. At least that I could see. I began walking, searching for anyone. It was if this room never ended. The more I walked the more anxious I became. _

"_Hello?" I called. I received no answer. I continued my journey hoping to find anyone who could tell me where I was and how I got there. After several minutes I realized there was nothing around. No living person or thing. I let out a breath. Where in the hell was I? How did I get here? And where was this disembodied voice that ordered I had to wake up?_

"_Ronnie." A different voice said. A voice I recognized. I turned slowly. I smiled, seeing my father standing only a few feet away. His hair was disheveled and his face blotchy. He had obviously been drinking, but this wasn't an unusual occurrence. I felt happiness coarse through my veins. I needed him, and he was here. That's all that mattered._

"_Daddy." I said taking a step forward. However, as I took those few steps, he seemed further away. I took another experimental step forward. Again with the same result. "Dad…"_

_He didn't speak, he only took a swig of his drink. He then turned and began walking away. I stepped again, but he got even further away. My heart sped up as I watched him walk away. I began frantically running toward him, but this didn't help at all. When I finally gave up, he had disappeared. _

_I didn't realize I was crying until the tears were dripping off my chin. My heart was still pounding, and my breath was hysterical. I began yelling his name, screaming until my voice was gone. I collapsed, my knees giving out. I hit the ground with a thud and a cry in pain. I wanted to disappear. I wanted the pain to stop, but neither happened._

_As I lay there crying, I heard another loud thud. The thud was close, so close that I realized that whatever had fallen was right next to me. I swallowed, fearing what it could be. Or who it could be. I slowly turned over, my eyes closed. I didn't want to open my eyes. I wanted to just lay there and cry, but my curiosity got the better of me. Once I was completely on my side, I peeked one eye. Upon seeing what was next to me, my eyes shot open and I scrambled away._

_The sight of my dead father lying on the ground, eyes devoid of life and chest still, made me want to gag. I tried my hardest not to scream. I brought myself to my shaky feet. I wanted to look away, but my eyes were trained on the person who used to give my life such joy. My feet took me backward, and I didn't stop until my back hit something. _

_With a shaky breath I turned, trying my best not to be frightened. However, I let out another scream when I saw the dirty, half skeleton corpse of my father again._

"_Boo." He said. I let out another scream._

* * *

I hastily shot up in bed. I was panting, and my hair was stuck to my face with sweat. I hastily wrapped my arms around my knees and pulled them to my chest. I found myself rocking back and forth trying to shake the frightened state I was in. My heart was thumping in my chest and I could hear it in my ears. I should have been used to these nightmares. I've had similar ones. All of them containing my dead father's corpse. Ever since I had found him I had been haunted by the sight of his dead body. These nightmares made me fear sleep, and some nights I hadn't even been able to bring myself to it.

A knock at my door made me jump. I looked to the door to see my mother poking her head through. She looked just as chipper as ever. She already had her make-up and hair done perfectly. She had a wide smile on, but it faltered when she saw me.

"Are you alright honey?" She asked. I hastily nodded, wanting to be alone. She gave a curt nod, not believing me but thankfully she didn't push the issue. "Get ready, we are going shopping soon."

I nodded again, and she disappeared out the door. I ran a hand through my damp hair and I took a deep breath.

"God give me strength." I grumbled, getting up and heading to the bathroom.

* * *

"This is cute." My mother said. I looked over at her, to see a bright pink sun dress in her hand. My nose scrunched up in distaste. She laughed slightly. "I should have known."

We had gone through this whole store and I had only found a pair of jeans, ripped up the front, and a simple black long sleeved T-shirt. She had been trying; I had to give her that. She didn't push me to try things on, and she didn't shove expensive designer clothes at me. She let me have free reign, which I appreciated. I knew it was a way to get back into my good graces, and I had to admit that she was beginning to grow on me.

We had the same sense of humor, something dad had always told me, but I never believed. She was kind to me, never saying a negative word about my hideous appearance. She tried to find out more about me, which was refreshing. She asked about my friends, dad's side of the family, and my non-existent love life.

"You cannot tell me that a girl as beautiful as you has never had a boyfriend." She said looking through a rack. I was doing the same, my hands brushing over a mint green cashmere sweater. I shrugged as I pulled the sweater off the rack. "That's cute."

"It's too much." I told her. She scoffed taking the sweater from me and draping it over her arm. She did it with such grace, I found myself jealous. In the grace department, I inherited my father's clumsiness and the chunky way he walked.

"Nothings too much for _my_ daughter." She said. I sighed. I couldn't get through to this woman, but I guessed that was how it was talking to a rich person about prices. I was never accustomed to having nice things. Dad's factory job never paid much, so I was stuck with hammy downs from my older cousins. I had never minded, but looking at these clothes, I knew dad was rolling over in his grave.

"So, there has never been a boy who caught your eye?" She asked me. I shrugged yet again. Sure I had had crushes, I was a girl. However, I was an awkward girl who never knew what to say to a boy. The only guys I ever talked too had friend zoned me years ago. It was a fact of life. Weird girls do not get boyfriends.

"I bet you find someone here. The boys here are H-O-T. Hot!" She said with a laugh. My jaw dropped when she said that. She gave me a wary look, worried she said something wrong. My response was to let out a very loud laugh. I couldn't help myself. I could not believe my own mother said that.

"Mom!" I complained. She shot me a smile, loving the fact that I called her mom instead of mother. She laughed with me before throwing her hands to the side.

"What? I can't think a boy is hot?" She asked. I shook my head frantically.

"Not when they are my age!" I told her. "That would mean you are a cougar."

"I guess so. Your father was a year younger than me." She admitted. I laughed once again, but then something occurred to me.

"Yeah and Ryan is five." I said, all amusement draining. She looked over at me, sadness melting away her laughter. I knew we were finally getting somewhere and I messed it up, but at that moment I didn't care. She shouldn't get a second chance with me. Not after breaking me.

"You're right." She said. "Can I ask something?"

"It's a free country." I said, my cynical mask coming back up. She stared at me for a second, as if she was writing out the words in her head.

"Did we just have a moment?" She asked. I swallowed, looking down. She nodded and sighed. "I enjoyed it while it lasted."

I looked back up to her, but her back was to me and she was walking to another rack in the store. I let out a huff. I couldn't win in this situation. I couldn't make her happy, and give my dad justice. I couldn't avenge my dad, without breaking her heart. And no matter what I did, I wasn't going to be happy. Sometimes I wished that I could be a bitch and make her hate me, but I just couldn't do it.

I held back the groan that bubbled to my throat. I continued to look through the racks, finding another pair of jeans and a couple blouses that I probably would never wear. She paid for them with a credit card, something I had never seen or held before. We were silent on the drive to the next store, and only spoke a few times in the building.

The rest of the stores went the same. I only spoke when spoken to, and she only said anything to me when she had to. I felt a pit form in my stomach seeing her so defeated. I wanted to scream I was so conflicted. When we got into the car at the end of the shopping trip, I got the courage to speak.

"I had fun today." I said. She looked over at me, surprise on her face. I gave a weak smile.

"That's good." She replied. I was shocked when she didn't talk more. I must have really hurt her feelings. I swallowed my pride and continued.

"Maybe… we could do it again sometime." I said. I saw a small smile break onto her face.

"I'd like that." She said. I nodded, and we fell back into silence. I knew she was itching to talk more, but didn't know what to say. I felt the same way. We had been apart for so long; we didn't know how to act around one another.

I remember wanting desperately to have her back in my life. To have that special relationship only mothers and daughters have. That was the selfish part of me. The part that was rational, knew that she hurt my dad, and in turn hurt me. She chose someone else over me. How could I have a relationship with a woman like that? Then again she was my mother.

The ride back home to Port Angeles was a silent one, much like the whole trip. I racked my brain for something more to say, but I came up blank. I imagined she was doing much the same. She was walking on egg shells around me, waiting for when I would snap. Knowing me, I would crack when no one expected it. I wouldn't even be expecting it.

"Do you want me to help you pick an outfit out for tomorrow?" She asked me when we made it inside. I swallowed, remembering what tomorrow was.

"I think I can manage." I told her. She nodded, turning to the staircase when she heard thumping footsteps barreling down them.

"Mama!" Ben said launching himself at his mother. She laughed, all apprehension toward me masked.

"Hey kiddo. How was your day?" She asked.

"Great! Me and daddy went to the zoo!" Ben told her excitedly. Just then Ryan came into the room, embracing my mother and setting a kiss on her lips. I held back a scowl as I watched the scene of the happy family that I never had.

"How was shopping?" Ryan asked me. All eyes went to me. They were probably expecting me to shrug, or send a one word answer.

"It was fun. I got some stuff for school." I said. Ryan looked like I had broken something. He was shocked that I had spoken that much, which I enjoyed.

"Great…. Cool!" He said. I laughed slightly.

"Clothes aren't as fun as the zoo." Ben said. I smiled going over and lifting him up and resting him on my hip.

"I have to agree with you there." I said to him. He giggled as I gently poked his nose. "What kind of animals did you see?"

"Lions, and Tigers, and Bears!" He told me.

"Oh my." I said. Ryan and Mom laughed, and I just bounced Ben on my hip.

We ate dinner after that, something that Ryan had cooked. I was thoroughly impressed by his kitchen skills. I guess that's what you get for having a step-dad who owns his own restaurant. Ben told me all about the zoo and then he went into a conversation about school.

"School's not that bad Ron-Ron." He said. I narrowed my eyes at the new nickname, but didn't ask him where he had come up with it.

"I could really use some advice." I told him. His eyes brightened, and he went into this whole spiel about how to make friends and not to eat paste. Somehow I just didn't believe that taking advice from an elementary schooler could help me in my new high school, but it sure made Ben happy.

When I had lived here, I hadn't had many friends, seeing as I was young when I left. So I was basically going someplace I had no experience with. As any normal person would be, I was nervous. I had made friends in San Francisco, but I had plenty of choices there. This was a small town, and small towns had their groups already placed at birth. It would be hard for me to go in and weasel my way into one.

"My friend is your principal, so don't go making a mess on your first day." My mother said. I looked up to her, to see her face was very amused. I smirked myself, knowing she was kidding. I had never done a bad thing in my life. Well, except for the time I got completely wasted and had to spend the night at my friends. After that hangover, I will never get drunk again.

"Yeah! Or I'll kick your butt!" Ben said, causing me to laugh.

"Benjamin!" Mom said. He shrugged and I shook my head.

"I'll be good. I promise." I vowed.

After dinner, I went back to the solitude of my room. I put my new clothes away, careful not to wrinkle them. I then went through my back pack, arranging the different new notebooks and folders. I didn't know why I was so nervous. I should have been used to school. I had been going to it for years now. But the thought of meeting new people and making them actually like me made me cringe.

My friends in California were the artistic, tree hugging, rebellious type. I doubted I would find anyone like that in La Push. I would honestly be willing to hang out with anyone if that meant I would be able to not feel completely alone. As stupid and shallow as that was, I was easily persuaded. It was one of my many faults.

I could feel the pit in my stomach grow as I envisioned what the day would be like. It could go two possible ways. My dream was that it would go easily without a hitch. I would meet some lifelong friends and love all my teachers. Maybe they would even persuade me to stay here.

However, reality was, it would probably end up being the worst day of my life. Everyone would hate me. They would think I was anorexic because of my figure. They would think I was a freak who didn't deserve companionship. They would write me off as 'that weird girl whose father couldn't keep his wife.' I would end up moving all the way across the country.

Or they could just ignore me all together. I would be okay with that. That way there was no pressure to make friends or worry about their evil judgments. Then I could get in, graduate, and get as far away from here as possible. That seemed like the best option, but fate seemed to have a completely different way of working.


	4. Chapter 3

**Enjoying it? Review maybe? I love reviews they make my day! Love you dearies! I know this is kind of boring, but it will pick up!**

**I do not own Twilight**

**Chapter 3**

_*Beep* *Beep* *Beep*_

My hand came slamming down on my alarm. The incessant beeping stopped, but there was no hope of falling asleep again. Once I was awake, I was awake. My eyes opened and I glared at the red letters that read _6:45. _I grumbled rolling over as I prepared myself to fully awake and get ready for this horrible day.

It had taken me a while to get to sleep, and when I did, I had a similar nightmare to the one from the previous night. The white walls, my screaming, and my father's body, haunted me. I had woken at two, and attempted to go back to sleep. It took a while, but I had managed to sleep a few extra hours without any sign of the half skeleton corpse that was my dad.

"Ronnie? Sweetie are you up?" The timid voice of my mother said. I looked to the door to see her curly head popping in. She had a smile on her face, one that I grumbled at. She let out a laugh to my protest and stepped inside. She flipped on the light and I growled yet again.

"Sleep well?" She asked me. I sent her a glare as I sat up. I could feel the back of hair was a mess, and my legs were tangled in the sheets. When I had nightmares, I tossed and turned so bad, I once fell off my bed and cracked my head on the night stand.

"I've slept better." I told her rubbing the sleep from my eyes. She gave me a look as she sifted through my clothes. I watched her carefully. I never asked her to help me pick out an outfit, and I really didn't need her help. However, it was a nice gesture. It only assured me that she was still trying. I didn't know how I felt about that.

"Are you nervous about today?" She asked, picking out a dark blue flannel, and the mint green sweater. I answered with my signature shrug. I didn't want to dwell on this day. I wanted to get it over and done with. I thought way too much over it last night. I decided to just let it go, and pray to God I didn't screw up.

"I think you should wear one of these." She said holding up both of the options. I stared at both of them. The flannel was more my style. It was dark and didn't scream 'I need attention.' It was safe. Then the sweater was something I only saw in magazines. It was bright, and something I've never worn on my body before. It was the more daring option. At least it was daring for me.

I stood from the bed, walking toward her outstretched hands. I continued to look at both shirts and found myself gravitating toward the sweater. A smile broke out on my mother's face. Then my hand seemed to take a mind of its own. It grabbed the flannel, and protectively held on. I guess I feared that she would take it and burn it. Her smile did fade, but she said nothing. Baby steps. I needed to take baby steps.

"Get ready." She ordered, turning on her heel and leaving the room. I watched her go and found the pit in my stomach grow to a huge size. The more time that passed, the more nervous I got. I took a deep breath and headed into the bathroom.

My process of getting ready wasn't that long. I didn't do anything really extravagant. I let my hair air dry and I didn't wear make-up. Unless it was a special occasion, I didn't see a need for it. Not that I thought I was too good for it. It was the simple fact that I was much too lazy and would never be able to do it correctly. I asked my mother for some concealer to cover the dark circles under my eyes. She relished in the fact that I seemed to need her.

I pulled on my clothes in a daze. My new jeans fit well, giving me curves that I didn't know existed. They made me actually look like I had an ass. I smiled slightly looking at myself. The flannel was a size too big, but it wasn't like the three time to big shirts I was used to. My hair was still slightly wet and fell straight down my shoulders. I nodded at my reflection as I turned on my heel. I grabbed my new combat boots and slipped them on. They were much more comfortable and functional than my old converse.

Once I was dressed and presentable, I grabbed my bag shoving it on my shoulder. I was still overly anxious about this day. I thought a shower might help, and the new clothes. However, I still felt nauseous. Just my luck, I would get sick on the first day and make a huge fool of myself. I walked down the stairs carefully, making sure my shaking legs didn't give out. I could hear Ben talking excitedly to his dad. When I walked into the kitchen, I found I was correct. Ryan was sipping his coffee, reading the paper. Ben was talking quickly and at a very high pitch. I could barely make out what he was saying.

"Morning." I said daringly. Both Ryan and Ben looked up and gave me similar smiles. As I walked by Ben, I ruffled his curls. His little hand smacked mine away, but he giggled none the less. I grabbed a banana in hopes that it would settle my stomach.

"Are you ready? It's a big day." Ryan said, trying to strike up conversation. I turned to him, leaning on the counter. He was still sipping on his mug, but the paper was down and Ben was making a toy of it. I shrugged, trying to act like I wasn't about to piss myself. He nodded. We fell into an awkward silence.

This was the most interaction we've ever had. The first time I met him was at age nine about ten. That was when they were still dating, and I was forced to come visit for Christmas. It was then that they told me that they were getting married, and that my mother was expecting. I had been angry, throwing a temper tantrum and going home early. I knew I had hurt her feelings and left an impression on Ryan. Maybe he would leave because he didn't want another me on his hands.

However, they got Ben, who is the most adorable well behaved kid ever. I did come back to La Push to see the newborn. Dad was visiting his own parents while I went to see my new baby brother. At first I was jealous. I had plotted the kid's demise as I watched him sleep. I was going to throw him out the window or give him to another family. However, when I held him for the first time, I fell in love with his freckles and beautiful curls.

Now, she was pregnant again. I knew I was more mature than I was when Ben was born, but I still wondered if I would still feel the little green monster creep up. I also wondered how Ben would fair. He had always been the baby. He was much more level headed than I was, so he would probably be okay.

"Ronnie… can I ask something?" Ryan asked as he stood. He took the empty mug to the sink and watched me warily. I nodded slowly. He looked over at his shoulder, seeing that Ben was distracted by the bits of the paper he tore up. He looked back at me and took a step closer.

"Can you take it easy on your mom? She's trying really hard." He whispered just so my ears would hear. My eyes narrowed. Why should he be able to ask something like that from me? He broke up my family. "Someday you will realize that you need her as much as she needs you."

I scoffed. I hadn't needed her for most of my life. Why start now? Yeah, sometimes I missed her, and I longed for her to be in my life again. However, the longer I dwelled on it, the more I realized it wasn't even worth it. She hadn't wanted me enough. Something had clicked in her head, and she was done with me. She broke my dad. And he was my whole world.

"Morning." Her voice rang through the room. Ryan turned a large grin on his face. I forced myself not to roll my eyes. Every time he saw her, it was like he was a blind man finally seeing. It made me sick. "What are you guys talking about?"

"Nothing." Ryan answered. "Just giving her some school advice."

She looked between us, not believing her husband for a second. She could see the irritation on my face, and the mask of happiness Ryan had. She didn't question it though. She simply began picking up stray pieces of paper off the floor that Ben dropped.

"Are you ready?" She asked me. I nodded, still too annoyed to speak. Ben got out from his chair and ran over to me. All my anger pushed back into me at the sight of his smile. He grabbed my hand and began hopping around.

"Let's go!" He said. He would be the only kid that would be excited for school. My mother laughed, grabbing her car keys from the key tree and her purse. She kissed Ryan as she passed him and made her way to the door. I didn't look back to him as I headed out the door. I focused on the excited babbling of Ben.

"Everything okay?" She asked me when we were in the car. I simply shrugged. She must have known I didn't want to talk about it because she didn't press the matter. I was thankful for that. I was already on edge, and trying to forgive my mother was not on the agenda today. Ben continued to talk in the back of the car, causing my mother to grin widely.

"Ronnie, do you think you're going to make friends today?" Ben asked me curiously. I looked at him in the mirror.

"I hope so." I admitted. I just hoped I didn't end up the laughing stock of the school. That would be an accomplishment.

"Do you think they will pretty?" He asked. I let out a laugh, accompanied by a gasp from my mother.

"What is that supposed to mean Benjamin?" She asked. Her eyes were ablaze with motherly protectiveness. I wondered if she ever felt protective of me. When she asked about boys she hadn't seemed protective.

"Maybe Ronnie will make friends with a pretty girl." Ben shrugged as if it was no big deal. Mother let out an exasperated laugh.

"I'll make a pretty friend just for you Benny." I told him. He smiled triumphantly in the back seat. He was silent after that, and left me to my thoughts. That was dangerous, because when I was able to think, I usually came up with terrifying scenarios. That was never a good situation.

We stopped outside of Ben's school and my mother got out of the car. She unstrapped him from his car seat and placed him on the ground. She told me to sit tight as she walked him into the school. I sighed to myself, rubbing a hand on my face. The pit in my stomach was taking over my body with anxiousness. I was just under the line of physically freaking out. Mentally I was having a break down. I didn't want to do this. Maybe this was all a dream. I even pinched myself to see if I could wake myself up. It didn't work. So, I guessed I was stuck here.

She was back in a minute and settled into the car. My eyes roamed over her swollen belly. I wondered if the child growing within her was a boy or girl. I had always thought having a sister would be cool. Maybe I would have even enjoyed it, if she was coming from other circumstances.

"Are you still nervous?" She asked. I nodded honestly. She chuckled quietly, causing me to send her a little glare. This only made her laugh harder. I looked back out the window and shivered. I knew the high school wasn't too far away, and I closed my eyes wishing we could turn back.

Suddenly, I felt a hand touch my arm. I flinched at first, looking down to see her hand on my arm. I never imagined that she would take such a step. She didn't look at me; she just rubbed soothing circles on my arm with her thumb. It was oddly calming. I closed my eyes again, dreaming of another world where my father was still alive, my parents were together, and I wasn't miserable. I dreamed that I hadn't a care in the world. Nothing could bring me down. I was a princess, in my own little world.

"We're here." She said. My eyes opened and my beautiful world vanished. All the color drained, and I was met with an undeniable truth. My dad was dead. My mother was living a happy life without me. I was going to a new school with new people that would probably shun me. I wasn't a princess in reality. I was a peasant. Dirt under the feet of the real royalty. I was just Ronnie.

"Thanks for the ride." I told her, moving my hand slowly to the door handle. I didn't look to see if she nodded, I opened the door, trying to show her I wasn't a babbling child. I was trying to give off the air that I didn't need her. However, I bet the look in my eyes said different.

"Wait." She said. I stopped my journey, looking at her hopefully. Maybe she would tell me I didn't have to go. I watched her as she fished around her purse. Finally she pulled something out. It was a wrapped box and she was extending it to me.

"It's not my birthday." I told her. She laughed shaking her head. She didn't say anything; she just stared at the box. I hesitated. All I had ever gotten from her was a card of Christmas and Birthdays with a twenty in them. This was a real gift.

"Open it." She told me impatiently. I bit my bottom lip as I ripped the paper off. I then opened the box and my eyes widened.

Sitting in the bottom of the box was a cell phone. My own cell phone. My friends at school would always make fun of me for never having one, but my dad and I couldn't afford it. I never deemed it necessary anyway. I took it out of the box and balanced it in my hand.

"I put my and Ryan's numbers in there already." She said. I looked at her before staring at the phone. I clicked the button and it came to life. I was giddy. I have been so technologically deprived, just this thing made me happy. However, it was from her. I had taken the clothes because they were a necessity, unless I wanted to become a nudist. This was not necessary for life, and I didn't want to take it from her.

"I don't need it." I told her, trying to hand it back to her. She looked at me incredulously before pushing the phone away from her and back toward me.

"It's the least I could do." She said. We stared at one another for a minute and a half before I finally gave up. I slipped the phone in my pocket and sighed. She seemed pleased that she once again won the battle. I reached for the handle once again and yanked it open.

"Bye sweetie. Call me if you need anything." She told me. I gave a small nod, climbing from the huge SUV. I took small steps away from the vehicle, and shivered when I heard her drive away slowly. I stared up at the school, a lump in my throat.

It wasn't huge, just a small building for the small population that goes here. The bricks were old and I could see where someone had painted graffiti on it and the paint was just beginning to fade. The front steps were cracked, and I wondered how much weight it would take to make them break completely.

Students passed me, giving me small looks. They were all scrutinizing me, wondering who I was. Not one person passed who didn't look at me, and I felt myself blush. I thanked God I had dark russet skin that covered the redness in my face. I took a deep breath, pushing myself through the front doors of the school.

A warm gush of air blew my hair back a bit as I stepped into the building. The inside was just as old and untaken care of as the outside. The pictures hanging on the walls were crooked. The tile floor hadn't been mopped in a while. There were even cob webs hanging in the corners of the ceiling. I looked around, seeing all the students bustling around. Some hung on their rusty lockers, while others were too busy trying to get to class. To my left, I could see a door that said _Office_ on it. I turned there and walked in. Barely anyone was in there. Just a secretary and a woman at the copier. I could see a door that read _Principal Stonelake._ I guessed that was my mother's friend.

"Hello dear." The secretary said. Her black hair was pulled into a tight bun on her head and her deep eyes were behind large frame glasses. "Can I help you?"

"Uh… yeah. I'm new here… I'm-" I began. However I was cut off by the slamming of a door. I looked back to where the door to the Principals office was. Out of the room came a very tall woman. She wore a pin stripe suit that made her look even longer. She had an angular face, with pointed nose and chin. She screamed intimidation and I wondered if my mom was only friends with her because she was scary.

"Veronica Decker." She said. Her voice was just as crisp as her features. She had a smile on her face, but it seemed wrong on her face. "I'm Principal Stonelake. I am a friend of your mothers."

"Yeah, she told me." I replied, taking her outstretched hand and shaking it. She looked me over, making me feel almost more self-conscious than when all the students were looking at me. Her eyes were small and I felt like she could see right through me. I held back a shiver. When she met my gaze again she continued to smile.

"You look so much like George." She said. I stopped breathing at the sound of my dad's name. No one had really spoken to me about him, at least not here. Ben was the only one, and I doubted that he knew my dad's name. Hearing someone say his name made my heart ache.

"Melissa told me you were a beauty, but I never imagined you would grow up to be this stunning." She told me. I forced a smile. I didn't take compliments well. I always felt awkward because I never believed a word they said about me. Not that I received a lot of compliments anyway.

"Margie, can you get me Miss Decker's schedule?" Principal Stonelake asked the secretary. The secretary jumped, having been so engrossed in my encounter with her boss, she blocked out everything else. She scrambled through some papers, finally recovering what looked like a schedule. She handed it to Principal Stonelake and settled back into her seat. Principal Stonelake's eyes scanned over the paper and another smile broke onto her face.

"Looks good." She said handing me the piece of paper. My eyes scanned over it.

_First Period- English 11- Arthur  
Second Period- World History- Stiles  
Third Period- Culinary Arts- Torrence  
Lunch  
Fourth Period- Algebra II- Spencer  
Fifth Period- PE- Webster  
Sixth Period- Chemistry- Moore  
Seventh Period- Advanced Photography- Sullivan_

"Advanced Photography?" I asked, looking up from the paper. Her grin was still there as she nodded at me. Yeah, I had taken pictures for fun, but nothing art worthy. I didn't even have a good camera.

"You're mother showed the teacher some of your photos. He was thoroughly impressed." She said. I blinked.

"She had my pictures?" I asked, more to myself than anything. I remember once sending her some of my pictures, but that was ages ago. She kept them? I would have tossed them. They were amateur, and didn't give justice to the real thing.

"Mhmm. She say's you're even better now." She said, a twinkle in her eye. I didn't speak. I just stood there dumb founded. Suddenly, the bell signaling we had five minutes to get to class. "Well you better get going. Wouldn't want to be late on your first day."

I nodded, looking at the convenient map on the back of my schedule. I followed the routes around the small school. Students were milling about, pushing around me and talking to their friends. Only a few of them noticed me, which I was thankful for. The ones who did notice didn't try to speak to me, so that was even better. I knew once I got into class that would change, but for right now I was safe from their eyes.

I finally found my English room, walking in with my head held high. I walked up to the teacher's desk, where a small elderly lady sat. She looked up at me and grinned. She looked me over like the principal had, but much less critically and with caring eyes.

"I'm your new student. Veronica Decker." I said. A sudden realization hit her and she began shuffling through her disorganized desk.

"Right! I remember now." She said. She handed me a syllabus and a notebook. She told me her name was Mrs. Arthur, and that she was happy to have me in class. She pointed me to an empty seat toward the back. I was so gracious for a seat in the back. Then I may not be so noticed.

Once I was seated I let out a breath I didn't know I was holding. A couple people watched me as I passed. I tried to ignore them, and not let them know I cared about their opinions. I looked out the window, seeing that it had begun raining. I sighed. I missed the warm air of Cali. The sun, surf, the nice breezes. La Push was dull and rainy. Full of people who looked the same and had known each other since birth.

"Hey." A voice to my right said. I jumped, looking away from the window to the source of the voice. It was a girl with a large, curious smile on her face. She was in a word, gorgeous. She had the typical Quileute features. Dark hair and tan skin. However, her eyes were an exception. They were a bright blue, something definitely different from everyone else here. She looked at me expectantly and I realized I hadn't spoken yet.

"Oh…. Hey." I said lamely. _Nice going Ronnie. _

She sat down next to me, still smiling. She pulled out her pink notebook. She gave off an air of grace as she placed her things on the desk we were sharing. Her hair had perfect curls that would take me forever to do. Her eyes were lined perfectly with the right amount of makeup. She made me feel completely average and even more awkward. Suddenly she looked at me, and I looked away as if I hadn't just been gawking.

"I'm Tala." She said, jutting her hand out to me. I looked at her thin hand and found myself putting my own hand out to shake hers. I immediately wished I had put some lotion on this morning.

"Ronnie." I told her. Her grin grew.

"Wait, you're the girl from California right?" She asked. I nodded. She squeaked. "I've always wanted to go!"

"It's really beautiful." I told her. She then began asking me a flurry of questions. From what was San Francisco like, all the way to why did I move here?

"My dad… passed… and I had to move in with my mom." I replied. Her smile faltered. She told me she was sorry, and I told her thank you. It was a rehearsed answer, but it seemed to please her.

"Great job Tala. Now you made the new girl sad." A male voice said. I looked up to see a smirking boy sitting in a seat at the desk in front of mine. He was handsome, I guess. He was pretty lanky, but had a little muscle that he seemed to be trying to show off. He had the typical features like the other kids. He didn't stand out to me.

"Shut up Matt. It was just a question." Tala spat back at the boy. Matt ignored her, and I found him staring at me. It made me uncomfortable.

"The least you could do is introduce us." Matt told Tala. She rolled her crystal blue eyes.

"Matt this is Ronnie. Ronnie… Matt." She said. I notice Tala's demeanor change. It was as if the way Matt looked at me, made her angry. Jealousy maybe? She probably liked him. I really did not want to get into the middle of that.

"Well it's nice to meet you." He said smirking once again. I forced a smile. If I was in California, I would have told him to go away or at least had one of my friends tell him. But I needed people to like me. Having the reputation that I was stuck up wouldn't make too many people like me.

"Alright class!" Mrs. Arthur clapped her hands. Matt winked at me before turning to face the white board. I sighed silently; this day was going to be longer than I thought.


	5. Chapter 4

**Brady WILL be in this chapter! Yay! I know the first couple of chapters were kind of boring, but things will pick up I swear! I'm sorry it took a little while, I'm having writers block! That's not good this early in the story.**

**Check out my Blog! Link on Profile!**

**I do not own the Twilight universe!**

**Chapter 4**

Mrs. Arthur began teaching after our attention was on her. I could see a couple people turn around and glance at me. At one point Tala flipped a couple of giggling girls off. I silently thanked her. She had the back bone I always wanted. I was grateful I had always had friends who defended me anyway. Maybe she could be my defender. It was sad that I needed a damn body guard, but I had no courage at all in my little body.

Suddenly I heard the door open and shut. I didn't look away from what Mrs. Arthur was scribbling on the board. The whole class did apparently. I heard Matt scoff as he leaned his chair back. The giggling girls began doing what they did best. Giggling. I didn't understand what all of the fuss was about until I caught sight of who walked in.

It was a boy, I was guessing my age. My jaw dropped, and I'm surprised it didn't drop to the floor. He was gorgeous. Not like Tala gorgeous, he was like a god in human flesh. He had the typical features of the Quileute's, like the other kids in this school. However, something was different about him.

His black hair was tousled and damp as if he had just been running outside in the rain. His eyes were big and chocolate brown, with a twinkle of mischief in them. His skin was tan and clear of any blemishes. His face was the definition of perfection. He had a strong jaw that would probably break a hand at just the slightest touch. His nose was a beautiful shape for his face. And his lips… oh God his lips. They were plump and screamed 'kiss me!'

As I looked him over, I felt the pull to go to him. I couldn't have told you then why I wanted to be so close to him then. I wanted him to look at me. I wanted him to notice me. I would have been okay with a simple glance. I just needed him to see me. However, his eyes were locked on the angry old lady that was sending him glares.

"Ronnie." Tala whispered nudging me. I jumped once again, and looked over at her. She chuckled at my expression that I assumed was pretty awe-struck and dazed. She pointed to the corner of my mouth and I found that I had been drooling. I hastily wiped it away with my sleeve. She laughed again, but left me alone.

What was wrong with me? I had never in my life been so crazy about a hot guy. Hell, I didn't even act like that when I had seen Titanic and fell in love with Leonardo Dicaprio. It was as if a switch went off, and I was now obsessed with the looks of guys. This wasn't me. I wasn't a love sick puppy who went after guys she couldn't have.

"Late again?" Mrs. Arthur asked the Adonis standing in the doorway. He stared at her without any shame. I assumed this was a normal occurrence. Even with all the eyes on him, his confidence and bravery didn't falter. It made me all the more attracted to him.

"I'm sorry." He said. I could tell he wasn't really sorry. Like I said before, this seemed normal for him. His voice was deep and sent chills down my spine. It was husky and undeniably sexy.

"Mhmm. I'm sure you are. Sit." She ordered. He did as she asked, not looking at anyone, much to my annoyance. I didn't know why I was so itching to have him look at me. I felt like once he did it, everything would be okay and I could go back to my normal life. Of course, he didn't look at me. He didn't look at anyone. He kept his eyes high and the confidence just radiated off of him.

Mrs. Arthur continued teaching, and I desperately tried to focus just on her. However, I found myself looking at the back of his head every now and again. I mentally kicked myself. I was acting like such a girl in a terrible romance movie. I was absolutely obsessed with this guy and I had no idea what his name was.

I had never believed in love at first sight. Maybe that was because I had never been in love. I never knew what it felt like, unless you asked me about my dad. Of course, that was a different love than romance. I had dated, sure, but they never amounted to anything. I was never in a substantial relationship. Not that I ever wanted one. I wasn't going to have my heart broken by a high school romance. Besides, after my parents' divorce, I didn't know if true love was real.

When the bell rang, I was thankful that he was one of the first out. I didn't want to have to walk by him and faint or something. Matt and Tala looked over my schedule. I had Culinary with Matt and Chemistry with Tala. I had lunch with both of them, so they told me to find them when I got there. I was thankful I had made acquaintances with people who I could at least sit with at lunch.

I was still uncomfortable with the way Matt looked at me. It was as if he was undressing me with his eyes. Like a predator and prey. Unfortunately I was the prey. I bid them goodbye and headed into my next class. Thankfully mystery beautiful man wasn't in that class. The class in general was boring. My teacher had a droning voice that spoke at such a low frequency I thought I might shoot myself.

At some point, my phone vibrated and I saw it was a text from my mother. _Mommy_ flashed across the screen, and I fought back a laugh. I would have to change it to _Mother_ when I had a chance. She asked if I was doing okay and I replied that I was. She didn't say anything further, and I was glad. I was already having trouble learning from this teacher, and I didn't need her worrying cause any distraction.

When the class was over I was one of the first students out. I already knew I was going to hate History this year. I walked into my culinary class and was surprised by how small the class was. I figured that Ryan insisted I be in this class, and they probably took as many as they could get. Matt took my arm and made me be his cooking partner. I tried to be polite, and laugh at his stupid jokes. He seemed to get closer and closer as the minutes ticked by.

Matt walked me to the lunch room after class. He continued to talk, reminding me of Ben. He never let me get a word in edgewise. I didn't like to talk a lot anyway, but if he didn't shut up, I was going to explode. I got my tray and Matt walked me over to the table with his friends.

"Ronnie!" Tala waved. I smiled, taking a seat next to her. "Ronnie, this is Nina, Carter, Sarah and Chris."

The people around the table greeted me. I smiled and waved at them all. Both of the girls were beautiful, almost as gorgeous as Tala. The boys were twins, identical. I would have a problem telling them apart. Chris, I think, tried to take the seat on my other side, but Matt was faster and sat there first. I held in my annoyed huff. He was trying way too hard, and besides I wasn't interested. As I thought this, I found my eyes scanning the lunch room. My search stopped when I found him. He was sitting with another guy and they were in deep conversation. I watched him carefully. He seemed on edge, worried maybe. So did his friend. I wished I could hear them, but they were all the way across the lunch room.

"Ronnie." A voice said. I turned, surprised. Carter and Chris laughed only to be smacked by Sarah. Nina, who was on the other side of Tala, gave me a patient smile.

"I'm sorry. What?" I mumbled.

"I asked how you liked school so far." Nina said. I knew I would get along with Nina then. She was soft spoken and seemed sweet. She reminded me of myself, just better looking.

"Oh… well it's alright." I shrugged. She nodded, understanding my lack of response. Matt rested his arm over the back of my chair. I stiffened slightly at the closeness of his arm and my back. No one seemed to notice, which I was glad and scared about.

"Hey look, the 'Protectors' are still recruiting." Carter said, nodding into the direction across the room. All of us looked to see an older looking boy and a small younger boy walking through the door. They walked over to the table where the good-looking guy was. He and his friend greeted the other two boys and they all sat together.

"Poor Zane. I tried to warn the kid." Chris said. My eyebrows scrunched together. What were they talking about? I was beyond curious.

"What's wrong with them?" I asked. All eyes fell to me, and I tried not to blush. It was a valid question.

"Just the town cult." Matt said into my ear. I shivered at his closeness. He probably thought the idea of a cult made me frightened, but it was actually his proximity.

"They are not a cult." Sarah argued. Chris let out an obnoxious laugh right in her ear. She smacked him once again.

"If they're not a cult, then what are they?" He asked her. She shrugged, pointing her nose up into the air.

"They are just this group of guys." Tala said to me. I narrowed my eyes, still not understanding. She took a sip of her water before continuing. "There are a whole lot of them. Most of them graduated already."

"They call themselves the 'La Push Protectors.'" Matt said. I turned and he looked like he was giving me life changing advice. It made me irritated. However, I sucked it up because I wanted to know more.

"What are they protecting?" I asked.

"No one knows." Carter answered cryptically. I looked back to the table. They were talking again, but less seriously. They just seemed like a bunch of friends. Nothing that looked like a cult to me.

"We should have known when Zane disappeared for those weeks." Sarah added. She looked at me and rolled her eyes at my confusion. "It's like their initiation. A kid disappears for a week or two, and he comes back huge and ignoring his friends."

"People say they are on steroids." Nina said. It didn't seem to me like she believed it, but if she said anything they would say she was with them. I respected her. She reminded me of myself. I didn't believe most of it. A cult in La Push? It didn't sound likely. A gang maybe, but a cult?

"How many are there?" I asked. I suddenly wanted to know everything these people could tell me. And tell me they did.

They told me that it all started with some guy Sam Uley. Then gradually it grew. They cracked some of the strongest guys to join them. All have the same 'initiation.' Disappear a few weeks, come back huge muscles, a temper, and they desert their friends.

"Yeah, me and Fuller used to pretty good buddies. Then he got mixed up with them. Hasn't been the same since." Matt said. I looked at him in confusion, not knowing who Fuller was. "Brady Fuller."

"The hottie who came into English late." Tala said. I thanked my lucky stars she hadn't said anything over the fact that I had literally been drooling over him. I looked back to the table.

_Brady._ It fit him.

"Fuller is not _hot._" Carter whined. Sarah let out a scoff and I couldn't help but laugh at Carter's expression. He pouted and Sarah placed a kiss on his lip, confirming my idea that she was dating one of the twins.

"He is so hot. Even Nina will tell you he is." Tala said. Nina blushed, and I figured she was the innocent one of the group. I kind of wondered why she even hung out with these people. Not that they weren't nice, they just didn't seem like the kind of people she would be friends with.

"Virgin Mary." Chris coughed. I expected Sarah to smack him, but instead Nina surprised me by hitting him in the back of the head. I laughed at the sound it made. He cried out holding the back of his injured head. Nina said nothing as she settled back into her seat.

"What do you think Ronnie?" Matt said. I looked at him, and saw his smirk. I held back a cringe. The arrogance of this guy was astounding. He was just expecting me to fall at his feet; well it wasn't going to happen. And what else wasn't going to happen, was I would not obsess over Brady Fuller. If he was in this 'cult,' I didn't want any part of it.

"I don't see what's so special." I shrugged. Tala choked on her water. She gave me an amused look, but said nothing about my gawking earlier. I felt, no I knew, that Tala was bound to be an egotistical bitch, but she didn't try to embarrass me. At least not yet.

"Finally a girl with some sense!" Chris said tossing his apple into the air and catching it. The group laughed. I didn't talk most of the rest of lunch. I just picked at my food, and forced myself not to look at the table across the room that held the very interesting boys.

* * *

I had Algebra with Nina, which I was grateful for. Of course, her desk was on the other side of the room so I didn't get much of a chance to talk to her. However, she did ask me for my number, and laughed when I had to look through the device for it.

PE wasn't so bad. The girls played volley ball, which I wasn't terrible at. It didn't escape my sight that Brady was in this class with me as well. He didn't look at me; he just played basketball with some other boys. I tried not to let it bother me. Then again, there was that itching for him to look at me.

I walked into Chemistry, to see Tala talking to the teacher. She was trying to convince him that I could sit next to her. It didn't escape my eyes that she was flirting with the poor man. In a way it made me sick, but also kind of jealous, because there was no way I could do that successfully. It worked, because I ended up sitting next to her. And do you want to guess who was in this class too? Correct. Brady Fuller. I successfully did not look at him all class period, however I still thought about him. Those eyes, his muscles, and those God damned lips!

"Hey, I forgot to tell you at lunch." Tala said, looking at herself in her compact mirror. I looked up from the Chemistry problems to look at her. "There is a bonfire at First Beach this weekend. You should go."

"Like a party?" I asked. I hadn't been invited to a party ever since my friends 13th birthday. Of course, I didn't expect this party was going to have cake and balloons. I usually wouldn't want to go, and I would come up with some excuse. However, I needed a change, and if I blew these people who could be my only friends, I may not get another chance.

"Yeah. It can be like your welcoming party!" She said excitedly. I could see the wheels turning in her head. "I know the guy who is throwing it. I bet I could talk him into it."

"No, no, no. I don't need a welcoming party." I told her. She rolled her eyes, obviously ignoring my detest to be in the spotlight.

"Oh shut up! This could be a great way to get to know everyone!" She replied. She pulled out her phone and her fingers began taping on the touch screen at an extremely fast rate.

"Tala please don't!" I begged. She clicked one more button and it was over. She gave me a devilish grin.

"Too late." She replied in a sing song voice. I groaned, sinking in my seat. She rolled her eyes again, continuing her assault on her phone. "Now you have to come. Guest of honor."

I groaned even louder, earning a 'shhh' sound from the teacher. Tala giggled, but I was too mortified to be amused. I hated having attention. I felt like crawling up into a ball and staying there. I couldn't deal with people, and having a whole damn party full of people was not my cup of tea.

The bell rang and Tala was away from me before I could protest any more. I sighed, trekking off to my Photography class. I spoke with the teacher, who had embarrassingly hung up my old photos. Of course no one knew they were mine, until he called out my name and pointed to them. The class snickered, but one girl told me they were good.

It was a pretty boring class. We talked about cameras and how to fix lighting. For an advanced Photography class, they were learning minor stuff. It was stuff I learned years ago. Not to toot my own horn, but everything he talked about I had already learned from experience and research. At the end of the class, he assigned us a project. We were to take five photographs of different things important to us. He then assigned me a camera since I didn't have one of my own. It was a beautiful piece of machinery. Much fancier than anything I ever had. I loved it more than the phone in my back pocket. It made my heart hurt that I would have to give it back at the end of the year.

"Have a good evening Veronica." Mr. Sullivan said as I exited the class room. I smiled, stopping at the doorway. The other kids had run out, not even giving their teacher a second look. I could tell he was lonely, and pretty awkward. I think he just needed a friend.

"You too Mr. Sullivan. Oh and, I prefer to be called Ronnie." I told him. He smiled and nodded. It both saddened and excited me that it looked like I made his day. I waved him a goodbye and I headed out of the school. Most everyone had already gone or were making their way out. The simple fact that all students are quick to get out of a school is the same in every high school.

I walked outside; hoping to see the monster of an SUV parked somewhere. To my dismay, she wasn't there yet. I sighed, debating on if I should wait or start walking. If she forgot me, I would be here until she realized. If I started walking, I may just get lost. It was a hard decision, but I ended up sitting on a bench in front of the school. The hideous green paint was chipping on it, but I was sure the bench itself wouldn't break under me.

I waited for a little bit, before getting my phone out and texting her. I wondered where she was. Maybe she was picking up Ben and had started talking to one of his teachers. Maybe she just assumed I would walk. Maybe she was at the store. Or she found a place to dump me and was glad I was gone. Any could be valid excuses for why she was late.

"Listen buddy." I heard a deep voice coming from the school. I looked over my shoulder to see one of the boys from the protectors table and the smaller boy who they had said was... Zane! That's what it was. "You've got to learn to control your anger."

"I used to be able to, then I started turning into a-" Zane practically shouted. Suddenly, the other boy grabbed his arm cutting him off. He nodded over to me, and I pretended like I hadn't been eavesdropping. I just played with my phone.

"How do I control it?" Zane asked in a more hushed tone. The older boy smiled, and I could see him still glancing at me to make sure I wasn't listening.

"You've got to find your anchor. Something or someone who will make sure you don't… well you know." He replied. I was oddly curious, and wished I could know more. However, if I asked they would know I was eavesdropping, and that would not be good. They continued to talk as they walked past me and down the street. I watched them go and noticed similar mannerisms.

It seemed to me that they were always on edge. Waiting for an attack. They did have big muscles, but they didn't look steroid induced. Maybe they just liked to work out? And what was all that talk about a temper? Matt had said they all had one, but why would someone suddenly get mad at the drop of a hat? Not something cult like I didn't think. Then there was the fact that Zane was talking about… turning into something? What? A cult member? Or was there something bigger we all just couldn't see?

I heard a beep, and I turned my gaze from the retreating boys, to the SUV that made its way to me. In it was a frantic mom. I hooked my bag over my shoulder and hopped in when the car came to a stop. She rushed out apologizes, telling me she had lost track of time. I had told her it was fine, and that I didn't wait too long. She continued to fuss over me, making sure I was okay.

She then asked me how my day was. I told her about how I had made 'friends,' and liked a majority of my teachers. I didn't tell her about the 'protectors,' though. If she didn't already know about them, I didn't want to open a can of worms saying that I was hot for one of them. Who wants their daughter dating a cult member? Not that he would date me anyway. Guys like him, don't go for girls like me.

"How was photography?" She asked, looking out the wind shield.

"You know I didn't ask to be in Photography…. Or Culinary." I told her, not even answering her question. She swallowed, knowing she had been caught. She gave me a sideways glance and a smile lit her face.

"Well, you didn't know what electives to take, and Ryan insisted on putting you in a cooking class." She said rapidly trying to explain herself. "And I figured… you might want to do something you seemed to enjoy."

I processed that. It seemed to me, she wanted me in there because she thought it would make me happy. And it did. Photography was one of my hobbies and I loved doing it. It surprised me that she remembered how much I liked it. Even as a kid, I took pictures all the time. No matter who's it was or how crappy the camera, I was taking pictures.

"So the class was fun?" She asked. I shrugged and showed her the camera Mr. Sullivan assigned to me. She gushed over it and made sure I knew that I had to take care of it. I showed her how it works and everything I knew about how to properly take a photo.

"We've got to take new family photos." She muttered to herself. She parked in the garage and got out. I followed her. I took that as a hint that she wanted me to take the pictures. I didn't know how to feel about it. I didn't mind, and she might even pay me. I never had a family photo. I was slightly jealous.

"I can take them." I told her, closing the door behind me as we stepped into the house. She whirled around and gave me a confused look. What did I say?

"How can you take them if you're going to be in them?" She asked. I stared at her as a grin grew on her face. I didn't know what to say. She turned on her heel and began getting things out of the fridge for dinner. "Of course, we will have to wait until the baby is born."

"Right." I replied. I stood there awkwardly for a little bit before I excused myself. I went to my bedroom and began working on homework. It was a lot of work, much more than I was used to. By the time I figured out all of the math problems it was time for dinner.

Dinner was much like last time. It was a little less awkward. Ryan asked all about my cooking class and I seemed to give him all the answers he was searching for. I told them about my new acquaintances, and Ben asked if any of them were pretty. I again did not bring up the cult. I was curious, but I didn't want to scare them. I still needed to ask about the party, seemed like as good a time as any.

"Actually, there is this um… party… that I've been invited to." I said. The room went quiet. I didn't give off the air that I was a party girl, so this must have shocked them. I wasn't into partying, but according to Tala I had no choice.

"That's great!" Mom burst out. She must have been worried that I would have trouble making friends and fitting in. The thought I had been invited somewhere probably blew her mind.

"Where is it?" Ryan asked. He sounded like a father. More importantly, my father. It should have bothered me that he was trying to be my parent, but I let it slide.

"First Beach." I shrugged. I left out the fact that it was now, my party. Mom probably would have had a heart attack from excitement.

"Sounds fun. You can go." She said, but then her motherly nature kicked in. "As long as you're back by eleven."

I agreed. I didn't want to be out even that late. However, this gave me an excuse to be home before the wee hours of the morning. I could already tell Tala wouldn't be happy about the curfew, but I couldn't care less. It would be my mother's fault. Not mine.

Once dinner was done and the dishes were clean, I headed upstairs and into my bedroom. I settled into my bed comfortably. Closing my eyes, I let sleep over take my exhausted body. Hoping for a dreamless sleep.


	6. Chapter 5

**Sorry so sorry! I've lost my muse and I've also been cast as the lead in my school's musical so I've been busy. I hope this tides you over until the next chapter! Again, boring but I absolutely HATE when they fall in love so fast and there is no character development. **

**Check my tumblr! Link on my profile!**

**I do not own Twilight**

**Chapter 5**

The rest of the school week went by the same as the first one. Tala's happiness about my 'Welcome to the Rez' party only grew as the date neared. She took it into her own hands to invite every _cool_ person she knew. Of course, since it was on the beach, she couldn't keep out the 'undesirables,' as she called them. I cringed at the word. In a way I used to be an undesirable. I was never popular back in California, and I never wanted to be. I had my group of undesirable friends and I didn't branch out from it. It made me long for my old home, my old friends, and my dad.

Matt had offered to give me a ride to the beach seeing that I didn't have a car. I quickly tried to think of a reason why I couldn't, but Tala beat me to it. She said that I was going to be at her house getting ready anyway, so she would give me a ride. I let out a breath of relief. The idea of being around Matt alone scared me. He wasn't a bad guy that I could see. I just didn't like being seen as a piece of meat. He could make me feel uncomfortable in an instant.

In the midst of all the chaos, I still found myself obsessing over this 'protector's' cult. More creepily, I was obsessing over Brady. That annoying pull that I had to him was growing the more I saw him. Of course, he never spared me a passing glance. Usually I would have gotten over it, but I continued to stare at his back in class, and will him to look at me just once. I didn't understand my obsession or even try to.

Yeah, he was gorgeous. Yeah, he was sexy. And yeah he was mysteriously dangerous. However, he didn't even know I existed. That or he was ignoring me. I would have bet the latter. I imagined all the girls swooned over him. He could have any girl he wanted, and yet here I was thinking that if he gave me one look, I could have a chance. I know they say that anything is possible, but someone like him, would never go for a girl like me.

It was a hard thing to process, but I eventually drilled it into my brain that I had no way of catching his attention. These things only happen in movies and fairy tales. My life was definitely not a fairy tale. However, I still wondered if he would be at the party. I didn't expect him to, seeing as the way that my group of friends spoke of him. I just couldn't think that he was that bad of a guy. Sure, he gave off the idea he was dangerous with his leather jacket and the permanent scowl on his face, but could a person be really that bad?

I wrote off my attraction as the typical girl loves bad boy stereotype. Who didn't have a crush like that? Granted, I didn't really know the guy. I had stopped asking and talking about him in fear that my friends would think I was crazy. Or I guess they would know that I was crazy. I tried to focus on school and this party that I was being forced into.

I hadn't started on my photography project. Five things that were important to me? I didn't even know where to begin. I had a while before the project was due, however I didn't have too many things anyway. I guessed I could always bull shit the whole thing.

"What do you think you will wear?" Tala asked me in Chemistry. I looked up from my notes and shrugged.

"Jeans I guess." I replied. She let out a disgusted sound. She put her pink sparkly pen down and she turned to face me fully.

"You cannot wear jeans to a party!" She said outraged. I sighed, returning to my notebook. I could feel her eyes burning holes into my face as I attempted to ignore her. "You have to wear something nice."

"I don't own a dress if that's what you mean." I told her. She gasped, gaping at me. I held back the urge to take a picture of her shocked face.

"Not even a skirt?" She asked. I shook my head and she huffed. "What am I going to do with you?"

I let out a soft laugh. I never wore anything but pants. I had chicken legs, who would want to show those off? I remember when I was young the girls made fun of me because of them. It had scarred me, as pathetic as that sounds.

"I could loan you something I guess." She said, as if it was a real big inconvenience to her. I rolled my eyes staring at my chicken scratch notes. I was tempted to tell her I didn't even want to be at this stupid party; however I didn't have the guts to. She babbled on what she thought would look good on me, and I barely listened. She must have noticed because she stopped talking after a few minutes.

My mother had asked me about the party as well. She wanted to know who was going and what we would be doing. I told her I didn't know, and that was the truth. Tala hadn't given me any information other than I had to be there. She had huffed, wanting more than what I gave her, but let me off the hook. I was thankful, because I didn't want to stress about this party or _him, _anymore this week. I just wanted it over and done with.

When the day came, I could feel the butterflies in my stomach. I had showered and done my best to get a good night sleep like Tala had instructed. It was hard because of the nightmares, but I did end up getting about five hours. I wore comfortable clothes and waited for Tala to pick me up. She said she would get me early because she had a lot of work to do. I didn't know whether to be offended or not.

I played with Ben while a waited. He asked me about school, but he ended up doing most of the talking as usual. Ryan asked me how my cooking class was. I told him everything we had learned, to which he scoffed and said 'easy stuff.' He and I actually had a nice conversation, mostly about cooking, but it was nice.

When Tala did show up, I ran out of the house barely giving a good-bye to my mother. She told me to text her if I needed anything, to which I promised I would. I debated on whether I should text Ryan instead to make her mad. I climbed into Tala's nice car, smiling at her as I did.

"At least you showered." Tala scoffed flipping a wet tendril of my hair. I just rolled my eyes. She went on and on about what she wanted me to wear. I didn't even bother giving her any ideas. She would have shot them down anyway.

"I'm thinking about wearing something hot." Tala said climbing out of her jeep. I followed her as she led me into her house. It was empty and I remembered her saying that her parents weren't around a lot.

"Like what?" I asked. She took me upstairs into her bedroom. It was very colorful in there. Her walls were neon pink, and they kind of hurt my eyes. Her bed was covered in cheetah print and a large white canopy was hanging above it. This room was like a princess room.

"I have this little red dress I'm thinking about." She replied. She then turned on her music and sat me in a chair. She pulled out a curling iron. I told her that my hair would not hold curl, but she didn't believe me. She took the hot iron to my hair and became very frustrated when it didn't work.

"I told you." I said with a smirk. She glared at me and ran a brush through my hair. She gave up after a while, deciding to do her own hair. I watched the steam come off her hair and I wondered how her hair stayed so pretty.

"So, what's going on with you and Matt?" She asked. I looked up from the magazine I was reading. I met her eyes in the mirror and felt my face heat up. I tried not to shudder under her gaze.

"Nothing." I said simply. It wasn't a lie. I had nothing going on with Matt, what he thought was not under my control. She scoffed as she fluffed her curls. I watched silently as she took another strand of hair to curl.

"Doesn't seem like nothing." She replied. I glared at her in the mirror and stood from her bed. I didn't like being scrutinized. Nothing was happening with Matt except my constant irritation with him. I had no interest in the boy, and I tried to make that as clear as I was able.

"Honestly Tala, nothing is happening." I told her. She nodded, but I could see the wheels still turning in her brain. "Why?"

"No reason." She shrugged. I imitated her scoff from before. She smiled attempting to look innocent.

"I think there is a reason." I told her. She smirked as she finished her last curl. She sprayed tons of hairspray on them, and I found myself coughing. She laughed at my fit before she turned to face me.

"I just wanted to know because… well… I mean you wouldn't mind if I asked him out right?" She asked. I smiled wickedly. Not only would that get Matt off my back, but I really thought Tala would be happy. I had seen her reactions to him, and knew that she liked him.

"I wouldn't mind one bit." I told her. She squealed happily before clapping her hands. I laughed at her and found myself back in her chair. She worked on my makeup, making sure not to put too much on. She told me I had great features, to which I blushed.

Nina came by after a while. She gushed over how beautiful I looked and I blushed again. Nina and Tala went into a conversation about the party and I fell silent. As I watched the two, I realized why they were friends. Tala was an honest, controlling bitch, while Nina was a calm, level-headed sweetheart. They balanced one another out. Nina made sure that Tala didn't get out of control, while Tala made Nina speak up. They protected one another, and wanted the best for their friend. I could only dream of a friendship like that. None of my old friends ever acted like that. That was why I hadn't tried to contact them. It wasn't worth the energy.

"So your first week was good?" Nina asked me while Tala fished through her closet. I shrugged. "You don't talk much do you?"

"Most of the time I don't know what to say." I said, resisting the urge to shrug again. She smiled and nodded.

"I was the new girl once. I know what it's like." Nina replied. "You just have to become comfortable."

"And find amazing friends like me." Tala said coming out of her closet. I laughed slightly. The truth was, I was uncomfortable. I was terrified I was going to mess up. I strived to be accepted. I knew how stupid that was, but my teenage mood swings made me change my idea about myself. I didn't want to be the outsider like I was in San Francisco. I didn't want to be popular or anything, just not alone.

"Here." Tala said handing me the garment in her hand. I looked down to the dress in my hand. It was a deep blue, almost navy color party dress. It had thin spaghetti straps and a tight bodice. It flared out right under the bust and came to right above the knee. It was nicer than anything I had ever had. I worried about the top though. I didn't have a big enough chest to fill it out. I didn't want it constantly falling down.

"What? You don't like it?" Tala asked. She looked at me as if I was ungrateful. I shook my head wildly.

"No! That's not it… it's just… I don't have…. You know." I replied looking down to my chest. That sent her into a fit of laughter. Nina sent her a glare before looking to me with sympathy.

"Try it on and we will go from there." Nina told me. I sighed looking down at the dress. Tala bit her lip as she tried not to laugh anymore. I narrowed my eyes at her before heading into the bathroom. I stripped of my sweats and T-shirt. I pulled the dress on and stared at myself in the mirror.

It wasn't as bad as I thought. I could not go without a bra though. I would have to pull something over it. The rest didn't look too bad. My legs were still sticks, but there wasn't much I could do about them. As my eyes swooped over my figure, I laughed. The way it fit me, made me look like a woman instead of a girl. I actually felt pretty and feminine, something I hadn't felt ever.

I came back into the room and was attacked by stares. Tala looked me over before holding her chin in her hand. Nina smiled at me reassuringly, but said nothing. It might have been because she didn't want to disrupt Master Tala's concentration. Tala disappeared into her closet once more. She came back with a light wash jean jacket and slipped it over my shoulders. She returned to critiquing me. I swallowed, feeling completely uneasy. I hated attention.

"Not too bad Miss Thang." She said with a grin. I found myself grinning as well. Nina rolled her eyes coming up behind Tala. She leaned on her friends shoulder as she looked at me.

"You look great." She told me. I smiled hearing the honesty in her voice. After that, all attention went to them. Nina changed into a patterned dress that cascaded to right above her ankle. It had so many colors it took me about five minutes to name them all. Tala's dress was what she said. Hot. It made me think twice about my own dress.

It was red and came a few inches above the knee. There was a small slit on her right thigh that revealed her flawless skin. I couldn't get over the amazing curves she had. I was a stick figure compared to her. She wasn't large by any means, she was just womanly. While I was the one who looked like a little boy. The top of the dress was a sweetheart neckline, and showed off her breasts. I could only dream of being that pretty. I hated feeling this insecure. I thought I may be able to get away from it when I came here, but there must have been something in the water. Everyone here was gorgeous.

"Are you alright?" Nina asked me. I nodded, pulling on a fake smile. She seemed to believe it, because she backed off afterward. I fought with myself to stop looking in the mirror and comparing myself with Tala. It was one of my many fault. I overthought things and put myself down. I bullied myself and I hated it.

"You have a little brother right?" Tala asked. I looked up to her. She was still checking herself out in the mirror.

"Yeah." I replied simply. Nina squealed. Nina had told me that she was an only child, and wished she had siblings. I hadn't even realized that I hadn't told her about Ben.

"How old is he?" She asked, her eyes twinkling. That was one thing I liked about Nina. She was curious and actually cared about what everyone had to say. She asked questioned, and really listened to the answers.

"Six." I replied. Nina 'awhed.' "His name is Ben."

"How cute! I would love to meet him." She said. I laughed to myself thinking about Ben wanting me to bring one of my pretty friends to meet him. He would have a field day with Nina.

"Sure." I replied. Nina grinned.

"So is he new husbands kid or your dads?" Tala asked bluntly. A tense silence fell over. Nina's head snapped over to Tala and she sent a glare. Tala shrugged not realizing how the question sounded. It wasn't actually the question that bothered me, it was more the fact that people still knew that my mother left my dad for someone else. I thought that was old news, but then again I came back and stirred up talk. I should have expected this.

"He is Ryan's son." I replied, trying not to let it seem like talking about this was bothering me. I hated answering questions. I always had. When people asked me where my mother was, I hated answering them. When people asked how my dad died, I hated answering them. I hated questions. I had rehearsed answers for every question, but that didn't mean I liked answering them.

"Do you like step daddy?" Tala asked. I didn't know why she was so curious. It may have been innocent or she was trying to get a rise out of me. I wouldn't let anyone see just how much this conversation was hurting me.

"Oh yeah. Ryan is great." I shrugged. I could sense Nina's apprehension as he friend asked these personal questions. I was wondering if she was waiting for the moment she would have to save me. I wondered if she would.

"So, your mom started dating this Ryan guy before or after the divorce?" Tala asked. I bit the inside of my cheek. I never had to answer this question. In reality I didn't know the answer. I hoped that it was after, but they obviously had been talking about this before she decided to leave my dad.

"Tala!" Nina scolded. I was so thankful that Nina stepped in. I didn't know if I would cry or scream at Tala if I had to answer this.

"What? I was just asking." Tala said. Nina looked over at me to make sure I was okay. I stood going into the bathroom. When I was safely inside I shut the door firmly behind me.

"What did I say?" I heard Tala's muffled voice through the door. I took a deep breath trying to calm down. I didn't like thinking about how my mother and Ryan began. I knew my dad had his suspicions on whether or not my mom was faithful. There was a very big chance that she wasn't. They had to have met before the divorce, or there wouldn't have been a need for one. However, to think of my mom cheating… it brought on so many more emotions.

"Ronnie…" Nina's voice traveled through the door. "Ronnie… please let me in."

I swallowed before cracking the door. Nina looked at me with pity and I wondered if I should let her in. I didn't want her pity or for her to tell me everything would be okay. It wouldn't because my mother had moved on and my father was dead. I just wanted to be alone. However, I let her in and she closed the door behind her.

"I'm sorry. I'm being stupid." I told her shaking my head. She placed both hands on my shoulders and made me look at her. She gave off the air of protective mother. It was more than I ever got with my real mother, so I relished in the feeling.

"No, you are fine." She told me. "Tala is just… blunt and honest and…. Well sometimes she doesn't think."

I nodded. I wasn't mad at Tala. I just wasn't prepared to answer such a personal question. Nina smiled at me and it forced me to smile as well. She took me back into Tala's bedroom where Tala apologized endlessly. I replied that it wasn't that big of a deal, and that I was fine. Nothing more was said about the matter and I stayed silent.

It wasn't until it was late enough and we began heading to first beach did I get nervous. The girls encouraged me that I would be fine. Nina promised that she would make sure that no one asked anymore personal questions. How she was going to prevent that, I had no idea. I could see the smoke and the blaze of the fire as we approached. There were a lot of people, and a lot of beer.

"Party's here!" Tala called. She ran ahead of us and into a group of guys. She mingled well, much better than I would have. Nina stayed at my side as we got into the crowd. She introduced me to several people. They seemed nice enough. I declined any drink offers. Whether is was because I didn't feel like being hung over or because I didn't trust any of these guys to get me a drink, I couldn't decide. Nina was right there with me. We drank soda and socialized with her friends. No one asked any invasive questions, which I was thankful for.

I found myself looking around for _you know who. _For some reason, I had hoped that he would just randomly show up. Maybe that was why he took no interest in me. He was waiting for the right moment. Then again, he could have been one of the undesirables, Tala spoke so low of. Most likely he didn't give two shits about the new girl who was absolutely obsessed with him. I would believe the latter.

"Looking for someone?" A voice said in my ear. I jumped turning toward the voice. Matt stood there, a grin on his face and a laugh escaping his lips. I let out my own shaky laugh, trying to calm down my heart.

"Way to be a creep Matt." Nina said. Matt narrowed his eyes at her and slipped his arm around my shoulders. I fought the urge to step away from him and closer to Nina.

"Ronnie here knows I'm just playing." He said with a weird smile. I fought the shiver that wanted to roll up my back.

"Yeah." I replied. Nina rolled her eyes but said nothing more. As Matt began talking I could feel more and more uncomfortable as his arm tightened and I was pushed into his side. I really wanted to tell him to back off, but there we go again with my wimp status.

"I'm going to go find Tala." I lied. Matt looked down to me and pouted. Nina squinted at me, but I just gave her a look. I wriggled out of Matt's grasp and made my way around. When I was out of their eye sight I went away from the party. I needed a few minutes of smoke, beer, and Matt free air. I tried to make sure no one saw me as I walked away from the fire. In reality, it probably wasn't a good idea to stray from the crowd, but at the time my mind wasn't all there.

I stood a few yards away from the fire and wrapped my arms around myself. I didn't realize how cold it would be away from the fire. It was much different than nights in California. Granted, I was never out during the night in San Francisco. I wasn't cool enough to go to late parties there. I was barely even cool enough for this. I walked away from my own party. How lame is that?

Suddenly I heard a rustling behind me. I turned where I could see the woods. It was dark so I couldn't see anything so I turned back to glaring at the party. I closed my eyes, taking a deep breath. I only had to be here until eleven and then I could go. In fact, I could call my mother and go home earlier if I had to. Of course, then I would look even stupider. Having to call mommy to come get me because I was a loser was not a good way to become popular.

Then I heard the rustling again. I turned around fully and squinted into the darkness. Like before I saw nothing, but that was most likely because it was so dark. I didn't know what possessed me to take a step forward, but as the noise continued, I found myself walking toward the tree line.

In hind sight, I was making the stupidest decision I ever could have made. However, I felt the need and a pull to check out the noise. With one small look behind me I stepped into the forest and made my way to investigate.


	7. Chapter 6

***Dodges Tomato throwing***

**I'm so sorry! I've been so busy, but I finally got something out. I hope it's worth the wait!**

**Alright my dears, this is when shit actually happens! Brady will now make his full appearance and make himself known to Ronnie. Very exciting!**

**I do not own Twilight!**

**Chapter 6**

The crunching sound of the autumn leaves under my feet was oddly soothing. The woods and the dark never scared me, so that wasn't what made me nervous. What did was the fact that I had no idea why I was so invested in finding out what was making that noise. It was probably an animal and I was just being too curious. _Curiosity killed the cat_, my brain screamed at me. However, it didn't stop me. I made sure I stayed near the tree line and had the light of the fire in my sight.

This was oddly like a teen horror movie, and I was the stupid girl that got killed first because she stupidly went somewhere on her own. I felt the adrenaline pumping through my veins the more I walked. I hadn't heard the noise in a while. It was probably just an animal and I had scared it off with my clunky footfalls. I stopped and looked around for a few minutes. I never realized just how dark the woods could be. No wonder people get lost in them. Everything looks the same. Especially in the dark.

I sighed turned on my heel and was about to go back to the party when I heard a _whoosh_ go past me. My hair flew to the side with whatever it was that went past. My heart began to beat quickly. I looked to my right to see what it was, but all I saw was a few leaves that had been kicked up. I swallowed, wondering what in the hell could it be.

Suddenly, another _whoosh_ went by, knocking me on my rump. I gasped and felt myself become nervous to petrified very quickly. I scrambled to my feet only to be knocked down again. However, this time I hit my head on the stump of a tree. I began seeing stars and felt my head spin. I tried to get up, but found myself fall again. I was too dizzy.

Whatever was out there had me right where it wanted me. I could do nothing to defend myself with the black spots clouding my eyes. I closed them in an attempt to make the dizziness go away. It didn't work. I felt tears prick my eyes as I thought about what could happen to me right then. Granted, I didn't think anyone would care. Mom and Ryan wouldn't have to deal with me, and Ben wouldn't have an idiot for a sister.

I hadn't made good enough friends for anyone to care. I wondered if I would see my dad, if I died right then. Would he be there waiting for me? Or if there nothing to look forward to after death? As I felt cold breath of death on my face, I clenched my eyes closed, waiting for whatever it was to attack.

However, the animal or wind was gone in a second and I heard several other _whooshing_ sounds pass. I kept my eyes closed though. I was too frightened to open them. I laid there, unable to move and unable to do anything but wait. I waited for what seemed like an eternity but nothing happened. It was only when I heard footsteps did I dare a peek.

I could see two bare feet coming toward me. I felt my breathing pick up as I waited for what this person was going to do. Was he a mass murderer? Was he going to add me to his long list of victims? Or was he just a random hiker who was walking by to see some idiot girl almost get herself killed? And why in the hell was he barefoot?

"Are you okay?" A voice said. I imagined that this was the voice of the person standing before me. I recognized the voice, but I couldn't place it. It wasn't the haunting voice in my dreams or the voice of my father. It wasn't Matt's and it definitely wasn't Nina's. I brought up all the courage I had and opened my eyes. I almost gasped when I saw who it was.

Through the blurriness of the tears and the splotches my head injury caused, I could see the beautiful face of Brady Fuller staring back at me. His eyes were full of concern and his face was rigid. However, as he looked at me, I could see something else, something I didn't understand. It was an emotion that I had never seen or felt before. I couldn't even give it a word that would suffice.

When I didn't answer he crouched in front of me. His chocolate brown orbs looked me over, trailing down my legs and stopping a millisecond on my chest, before they met my eyes. I opened my mouth to speak, but couldn't find the words. For a whole week, a whole damn week I waited for this moment and I couldn't even speak. I probably looked like a gaping fish at that moment, and I felt my cheeks heat up. Thank God for the darkness.

Suddenly, he lifted me into a sitting position leaning me against a nearby tree. My head ache didn't go unnoticed to me. I groaned as my head jostled slightly. He pulled back as if I had burned him, and his face was worried. I didn't know why he was so concerned. Maybe he was just that nice of a guy? Or he thought I was absolutely insane for being out in the woods this late at night.

"Hey… hey look at me." He ordered. I wrenched my eyes open and I looked at him. He smiled a smile that made my heart melt. "You've gotta' stay awake okay?"

I nodded, even though the action hurt. I flinched slightly when his large, exceedingly warm, hand took my chin. It wasn't like he did it hard, it just surprised me. He met my gaze and I found myself trapped in a sea of chocolate brown. I gulped.

"I'm not going to hurt you." He whispered. It was as if we were the only two people in this world. He broke our staring contest as he tilted my chin. I guessed he was looking for any sign of injury, but I found myself staring at his lips. Just one little movement and my own lips could be touching his. I didn't know if it was my head injury or my obsession with him, but I felt like a love sick puppy just waiting to be picked.

"You look fine." He said. I blinked not knowing what to say. I blushed a little even though I knew that he was talking about me being hurt not the way I was dressed. In all actuality I probably looked like a mess.

"Can you tell me your name?" He asked, furthering his assessment of me. I racked my brain, forgetting just what my name was. I was so delirious that I was forgetting the first thing I was ever taught. He watched me expectantly as I searched for the information I wanted.

"R-Ronnie." I managed. He stared at me, as if he was testing that it was in fact my name. I wished I could know what was going through his head right then. He eventually smiled as if he approved.

"I'm Brady." He said finally. I found myself letting out a laugh. I didn't know why I was laughing. I blamed it on me hitting my head.

"I know." I admitted lamely. If I had been in my right mind I would have been mortified that I had said that. He began laughing as well, and I didn't know if it was at my stupid answer or the fact that I seemed crazy. Either way, it wasn't working in my favor.

"Are you here for the party?" He asked. I nodded, not trusting myself to speak. He looked out into the distance and sighed. It was as if he didn't want to take me back out there. He looked back to me. "How did you end up out here?"

"I- I heard so-something." I stuttered. He chuckled.

"So you went into the dark woods?" He asked, amusement evident in his voice. I narrowed my eyes as he made fun of me. However, as he looked at me I could feel my irritation melt away. He was too handsome to be mad at. Suddenly he stood up.

"Can you stand?" He asked holding his hand out. I nodded, feeling much less dizzy and more stable. I took his hand gingerly, noting the hot temperature of his skin. I wondered if he was sick. That's just what I would need, to get sick.

He pulled me up, and my legs shook making me fall forward. He caught me against his rock hard chest. I could feel his abs through his thin T-shirt. I felt myself blush once more. He steadied me with his large hands on my shoulders.

"You alright?" He asked. I nodded once more. Once I was firmly on my feet I turned and began walking. I didn't realize he was right behind me until I felt his hand hovering over the small of my back. I looked up at him, but he didn't look down at me. He just glared at the fire and the crowds of people. It was a surprise that I didn't trip or something because I wasn't watching where I was going. I was creepily staring at this guy who may just have saved my life.

"Ronnie!" A female voice rang through my ear. My head snapped over to look at the owner of the voice. Nina came barreling toward me and pulled my into a hug. I winced at the slight pain in the back of my head. She pulled back and had a look of panic in her eyes.

"What the hell happened?" She asked in a motherly tone. It was as if I was her child and she was scolding me. I fought the urge to laugh.

"Well I… I…." I trailed off. I didn't want to tell them that I was an idiot and went into the woods. Then I fell and hit my head, and Brady had to come save me.

"She heard me and a couple friends wrestling in the woods. She thought we were fighting so she came to check it out and she tripped." Brady said. It was then that Nina realized he was there. She looked up and her eyes widened. Her grip on my arms tightened, but she said nothing.

"So is this what you do Fuller?" Matt's voice pierced my ears as he came up. He had a glare on his face and his usual conceded bravado on. "You and your little 'protectors' lure innocent girls into the forest and have your way with them?"

I blushed at the thought, but I also felt mad at the fact that Matt was accusing Brady when all he did was same my life. I hadn't felt this protective feeling before, not that someone like Brady would need my protection. Brady stood tall, puffing out his chest. If these two were to get into a fight, I would bet on Brady.

"Pretty sure that's your job Piercy." Brady spat. Matt's eyes narrowed and he stepped forward into Brady's personal space. I could see Brady's temper flare the closer Matt got. I could see the slight shaking of Brady's body. It wasn't from terror, but from anger.

"Those are fighting words." Matt said. Brady glared, but didn't back down. I felt my heart begin to pound as I imagined those two fighting. I didn't want Brady to get hurt, even though I doubted it would happen. I didn't want Brady to hurt Matt either, because then he might get in trouble for me. I shook Nina off and stepped forward in between the two.

"Back off Matt." I told him. He sent his glare down to me and back up to Brady. I knew that no matter what I said Matt wouldn't back down. However, Brady looked down at me his eyes immediately softening. He stopped shaking and I felt relief wash over me.

"Are you going to be okay?" He asked. I nodded. He gave me a curt nod before sending another glare at Matt before he walked back to the forest. I watched his retreating form and the further he got away the more I wanted to follow him. However, I held myself back. When he was completely gone from view I turned back to Nina. She flooded me with questions, and I kept the same story Brady had come up with. Maybe it was him and his friends in the bushes. However, I was not aware that it was him. It sure didn't sound like teenage boys wrestling. And what knocked me over? It didn't look like a teenage boy. Granted I hadn't seen anything. It was like air.

"Do you want to go home?" Nina asked me. I nodded frantically, feeling my head ache. I wondered if I had a concussion. I didn't say anything about hitting my head in fear that I would be taken to the hospital. I hated hospitals, almost as much as I hated airplanes.

"Come on." Nina said. She put her arm around me and pulled me away from the stares from Matt. She walked up to Tala and asked for her keys. Tala drunkenly gave them over as she hung on a guy who was equally as tipsy. Nina didn't let go of me until we made it to the car. Once we were in our seats she started up the Mustang and pulled out of the parking spot. I tiredly leaned my head against the window.

"What in the hell happened to you?" Nina asked. She kept glancing from the windshield to me. I forced myself to keep my eyes open. I was just glad that it had been Brady there and not some murderer or rapist. Although, I technically did not know Brady. For all I knew, he was a murderer or rapist. I probably should have asked him why he was in the forest in the first place. If he was with his cult friends, I wondered what they were doing.

A human sacrifice perhaps? I really didn't know. From what I gathered he was just in the right place at the right time. I didn't know what I thought. He could have done anything to me in that moment, and yet he helped me and made sure I was okay. He didn't strike me as someone to be in a cult, no matter what the cult does.

"Ronnie." Nina said. I shook my head knocking myself out of my thoughts. I looked over at Nina and she looked absolutely terrified. I gave her a reassuring smile, but she did not return it.

"I'm fine really." I promised her. She didn't seem convinced. I sighed turning to her. "I went to get some fresh air. I heard people fighting. I went to go check it out. I tripped and hit my head. No big deal."

"You hit your head!?" She practically shouted.

"Aw shit." I grumbled to myself. I knew I shouldn't have said anything, but me and my big mouth.

"We're going to the hospital right now." She said, pushing on the accelerator. I grabbed at her arm gently, trying to calm her down.

"Nina calm down. I'm fine." I assured her. She then went onto this spiel saying that I could have a concussion or worse. I finally convinced her that I didn't need to go to the hospital and that I would be fine. She wasn't happy.

"It was just a little bump on the head. No harm done." I shrugged. She looked to my unsure but finally gave up.

"Okay, but if you need a ride just call me." She said. I nodded, agreeing with her. "Now, what were you doing with Brady?"

I looked back to her. I hadn't expected that question from her. I thought it had all been explained and done with. I didn't even fully understand what happened. I could see a smirk form on her face at my discomfort.

"Once I fell he came to check on me." I shrugged. She nodded, already understanding that part.

"Yeah, but where were the others?" She asked. I stopped breathing, not really thinking this part through. Of course they would want to know where the others were. There were so many faults with this story.

"They uh… took off. They didn't want to scare me or something." I replied. She looked at me incredulously. She didn't believe a word I said, and I didn't blame her. This was a crazy story.

"Okay." She said simply. I swallowed, hoping she didn't ask any more questions. However, she did and put me under more stress. "So was it just me or did he seem very protective of you?"

I shrugged. She laughed shaking her head. I continued to stare out the window. I had no idea why Brady seemed so protective of me. Maybe it was because _he_ found me and felt I was his responsibility. He did leave pretty quickly. He was probably glad to have me out of his hair.

"Don't get me wrong, I think it was kinda' cute." Nina admitted. I looked back to her and cocked an eyebrow. "What?"

"You guys were all telling me that he was a no good cult member, and now you think he's cute?" I challenged. She bit her bottom lip letting out a breath. I watched her intently as she deliberated on what she was going to say.

"In my defense, I said nothing about them being bad or good. And of course I think he's cute. Have you seen him?" She asked, causing me to chuckle. "You should see the older ones, their even cuter."

I shook my head. I didn't know what to say. This whole night had been absolutely crazy. I had no idea what possessed me to go into those woods, but I was both upset and grateful at my actions. Upset because I hit my head and made a complete fool of myself. But I was also grateful because I got to meet Brady. I wondered if I hadn't gone in there would I have even gotten to talk to him. I didn't understand why it was so important to me.

"I don't think they are a cult." I said suddenly. Nina didn't look at me, she just stared through the windshield. I didn't know why I said it, or why I thought it would matter. Out of everyone I had talked to, I believed Nina was the most rational and understanding. I wanted her opinion, to see if she believed what the others said. I felt like if Nina said one way or the other I would follow her lead.

"I don't either." She finally said. I let out a breath I didn't know I had been holding. She ran a busy hand through her black curls before looking back to me. "I think they are just a group of guys who are misunderstood."

I nodded in agreement. I hadn't met the others, but from what I saw of Brady tonight, I didn't see any sign of a weird cult. It was weird, I didn't know Brady. I barely had any interaction with him, and yet I felt this intense feeling that I did know him. I couldn't understand then why I felt this way. It made me wonder if they were some cult and I was under some spell.

"This is your house right?" Nina asked. I jumped out of my daze and looked to the place I had been living for the past week. The size and beautifulness of the house still astounded me. I nodded to Nina and she seemed even more in awe by the state of the house.

"Thanks for the ride." I told her wrenching open the door and preparing to get out. She suddenly grabbed my hand, much more forcefully than I believe she intended. I looked back to her to see her mask of worry back on her face. I sighed, patting her hand. "I'm fine."

"You know if something happens to you I'm going to feel mass amounts of guilt right?" She asked. I gave her a look, but she wasn't backing down. I kind of enjoyed the feeling of being worried about. It was a new feeling for me, and I liked that I was being cared for.

"I'll text you in the morning." I told her. She sighed, but released me. I gave her one last smile before heading into the house. She waited until the door was closed before she left. I shook my head, ignoring the dull pain that once again spiked in the back of my head. I turned to see Ryan and Ben sleeping on the couch, some cartoon movie still playing. There was no sign of my mother, so I headed to the kitchen.

Rummaging through the freezer I found frozen peas. I lightly set it on the bump on my head and soon felt a little relief. I grabbed a granola bar before heading up the stairs, careful not to wake up the boys. I saw the safety of my room and was about to dash for it when someone stepped out in front of me. I practically ran into her.

"You're home early." My mother said looking down at her watch and back up to me. I shrugged, hoping not to cause too much attention to my head. I wondered if she would freak out or brush it off. "Why are you holding peas?"

"Uh… well… I…" I stammered. She narrowed her eyes before walking behind me. She wrenched the peas from my hand and stared at the back of my head. "It's really not that big of a deal."

"Not that big of a deal? What happened? Did someone do this to you?" She began asking flurries of questions as she fussed over the growing bump on my head. I whipped around to face her, trapping her wrists in my hands.

"Mom, I'm fine. I fell at the party and bumped my head. Not a big deal." I repeated. She continued to freak out, examining the bump and then checking to see if my eyes were dilated. I let her do what she wanted, knowing it was a lost cause to fight her on this. Once she was satisfied she stopped and ordered me to keep the peas on my bump.

"Besides being injured… did you have fun?" She asked. I nodded, or a tried but it was awkward with my hand on the back of my head. She looked me over and smiled. "You look beautiful."

"It's Tala's." I told her looking down to my dirt stained dress. I would have to clean it up before I gave it back to her. I told my mom that I met a lot of people, and that I didn't do anything bad. I didn't tell her that I wandered into the woods only to be tripped and found by a supposed cult member. That would not have gone over well. She wanted to continue talking about it, but I told her I was fine. She ordered that if the peas melt I have to go downstairs and get something else. I agreed and headed to the safety of my room.

Once the door was closed and I heard her walk down the stairs I let a breath out. I was tired, yet I wasn't. I had too many things on my mind. I quickly changed out of the dress, throwing it into my hamper. I pulled on comfortable sweats and relished in the soft fabric. I tenderly pulled my hair up, trying to make it easier to see my injury. In the mirror I tried to look at it, but It was pretty difficult. I continued to prod it with my fingers, but found that only made matters worse.

I sighed placing the peas back on the bump. I tried to busy myself, to do something productive. I found that I couldn't find anything to occupy my time. I had no homework this weekend, and I still had no idea what I was doing for this photography project.

So that left me to my thoughts, which was not a good thing.

I had so many questions, and didn't know if they would be answered. What in the hell had I heard? Was it what knocked me over? It was really fast, so maybe an animal? It must have been a big animal to knock me over twice. I hadn't even seen it. Not once. How was that even possible?

Then there was Brady. I wondered if he had seen it. Maybe he and his friends were doing something with some animal sacrifices and one got away. Still, he didn't seem like the type. I didn't see his other friends. It had just been him. Was he by himself? Maybe he heard the noise too and happened to stumble upon me. I wondered why he even helped me. He didn't have to. He could have just left me there to the mercy of whatever it was that was lurking in those woods.

However, he didn't. He helped me, and maybe even saved my life. It still didn't get by me that he left pretty quickly. Why did I have the feeling that I should have followed him? Even now, there was something pulling me to find him. Whether that was because of the fact that he returned to the woods or because of my obsession with him I didn't know.

I just hoped that he was okay. Damn I was pathetic.


End file.
